Persona 3: The Alternity Paradox, Part I
by KronosFireZeroOne
Summary: That night, everything was taken from him. Now, he shall take everything back. Returning to Iwatodai with a vengeance, Makoto Yuki is determined to find the answer to his family's death, and ends up getting much more than he had ever bargained for.
1. Homecoming

**CHAPTER ONE: HOMECOMING**

My name is Makoto Yuki. I am sixteen years old, and am currently living with my good-for-nothing drunk-off-his-ass uncle Aizen, and my timid, but just as useless, aunt Seiko, in Osaka. It's a nice place, except for the trashy-ass schools. Yet, all I can think about now is the city I was born in, Iwatodai.

It was a lush place. In the daytime, the buildings shone as brightly as the sun, and people were as friendly as could be. At night, punks and delinquents all gathered 'round at a single spot, yet the city was still as extravagant and beautiful as it could be. Yet, the one thing that I remembered most about Iwatodai was the night my family was killed right in front of my eyes.

It's been nearly ten years since the incident, and I still haven't forgotten. How could I? You can't just forget when your parents die in front of you, in a hellish, viscera-smelling wasteland that was once your beloved home, at what was supposed to be midnight, while some blonde girl did battle with a sword-swinging beast right before your eyes. Huge, black, looming coffins surrounded me from every corner, for some reason. I couldn't breathe, and I remember waking up the next day, in a hospital. Forgot which one.

Ever since that day, I've been jumping from relative to relative, all of whom were willing to take me in, yet, for varying reasons, mistreated and resented me. I've endured too many scars, both emotional and physical, from the people I thought were supposed to be my family.

All my nights are spent enduring insomnia that I had gained somehow, over the years. I would dread it whenever the clock would strike midnight, and I'd find myself trapped within a green-skied nightmare of a time period. I found out, after a few nights of looking out the window, that the coffins were people. They were ordinary folks once, but, somehow, they turned into coffins. I knew, because I heard the sound of labored breathing whenever I'd come close to a coffin. I tried opening one myself, but it wouldn't, for some reason. Nothing could pierce them, either. I tried stabbing one coffin with a knife, and it broke.

You're probably asking, "Why would you try stabbing a coffin?" I'd tell you, "It was my uncle."

Whenever I'd ask someone about it in school or at home, I'd get ridiculed. Humiliated. Disgraced. It was horrible. They'd give me looks, treating me like some kind of psychopath. They called me insane. I hate that word, 'insane.' It hurts to be called crazy, unstable, mad, or anything like that. It really does.

Why is it that no one I'd ever met had even known about this damned time period?

Why did people turn into coffins? Why does the sky turn green every time it strikes midnight? Why was there the smell of blood pervading the streets every time it would happen? Just who-or what-were those two combatants who duked it out on the Moonlight Bridge? And why, out of everyone on that bridge…

Why were my family the victims out of all of them? My father and mother had done no wrong. They were good people. Great people, in fact. They were loving, kind, generous, and persevering. They didn't deserve death. Especially not like that.

My sister…she died with them. Her name was Hamuko. Hamuko Yuki.

She…she was only four…

I searched high and low, reading book after book and article after article for any phenomenon wherein the sky turned green and people turned into coffins. I knew I might not get any sort of results… and, lo and behold, I was correct.

I tried several other approaches to this dilemma of mine. I tried recording my progress with a video camera, and, much to my shock, the camera wouldn't work. I tried jutting down notes about my findings during this time period, and, the next day, I'd always find them gone. Uncle probably swiped them away, thinking them to be useless. I tried hiding my notes, but I'd end up forgetting where I hid them, and when I'd remember where I hid them, I'd find them gone. Again, probably because of Uncle.

Too many questions were unanswered. Too many things were hidden from me. I had to know the truth, but circumstances just kept on getting in my damn way. I had to know just what the hell happened that night. I couldn't move on with my life. Could you? I needed closure. I needed peace. I needed… I needed to make my parents proud of me…

I needed to avenge them. I needed to discover what had happened, and I needed to put a stop to it before any lives or families are ruined. It hurt me, but I knew what I needed to do.

I had to return.

I had to go back to Iwatodai, if I would have any chance of finding out the truth. I'm not, in the least bit happy with what I had resolved myself to do, but I knew that I had no choice.

Nothing could stop me now… no matter how much I wanted something to.


	2. Return to Iwatodai

**CHAPTER TWO: RETURN TO IWATODAI**

I'm on my way home. It didn't take much for me to convince my uncle to let me leave for Iwatodai. I knew he always wanted me off his back. He always hated the fact that I looked like my dad, what, with my blue hair and gray eyes. He was always reminded by me of the older brother he never cared for. Asshole.

I boarded the train to Iwatodai, listening to my favourite song, _Burn my Dread_, while thinking of the events surrounding the night this all happened. I discovered, on one of the articles I had searched up, that, on that very night, an explosion had occurred just a few hours before midnight. People described the explosion as 'hellish,' and 'so hot the heat could be felt a mile away.' Even I felt a degree of heat exposure that night, despite the fact that it was snowing that day.

I knew that the explosion and the incident were connected. I just knew it. I'm thinking, by returning to Iwatodai, I'd find the connection. I hope this hunch of mine will at least get me somewhere. I know it should. It has to. To start off my investigation, I'm going to enroll in what's been called the best education center in Japan, Gekkoukan High. It's a prestigious little school that's run by the Kirijo Group, who also runs pretty much everything else in the city. I'm bound to find something if I stick around, especially since the heiress to the Kirijo Group, Mitsuru Kirijo herself, is a student there.

I want to learn just how much this city has changed in ten years, and I'm going to find out at the best school in the area.

But… why is this train taking so damn long to reach Iwatodai!? I've been here for what felt like five, seven hours! Come on! This can't be right! It's almost-!

…It's almost midnight. Oh, crap.

It's almost Funeral Time. Yes, I gave it a name, don't make fun.

It's 11:50. I still haven't made it to Iwatodai. The train's got lots of people coming and going, and it's almost Funeral Time. This is terrible. All technology stops during Funeral Time. Remember my camera? Hell, even watches and clocks wouldn't work.

If Funeral Time started here, the train would stop… and I'd be trapped in here for another damn hour! I counted. Funeral Time lasts approximately one hour. The things you do when you're bored, and stuck alone in a hidden time period where people turn into coffins…

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered," the intercom blared. "We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry." You better apologize…

"The next stop is Iwatodai." Thank God! Any more time on this train, I might've gone off the deep end!

As I hopped off the train, I checked the massive clock hanging over my head. Apparently, the time was 11:59. I sighed, relieved that I managed to get off the train before Funeral Time.

And speak of the devil.

The lights went out, and so did my mp3 player. The sky turned green. The moon grew ten times its size. Strange. Normally, I wouldn't even see the moon during Funeral Time. Anyway, I rushed out the door; almost slipping on a puddle of blood which was originally water spilled from a bottle an eight-year-old was drinking from earlier.

The eight-year-old was a coffin. So was his mother. And his father.

Everyone in and out of the station was a coffin. I scanned the area, looking for at least some sign of human life. There wasn't any. I couldn't even find any bugs crawling around.

I smelled viscera. A horrid smell, to say the least, but I'd gotten used to it by now. I could see the green tint of the sky reflect on my skin, giving my body an emerald color. I could see my reflection in the puddle of blood that seemed to spread all over the ground. The coffins, in all their looming glory, stood proudly amongst the chaotic environment, standing upright, shining from the light emitting from the creepily gigantic (and yellow-hued) moon.

An eerie feeling settled deep within the recesses of my psyche. Yet, that feeling was replaced soon afterward with a feeling of…familiarity.

…I'm home, alright.

Makoto Yuki… welcome back to Iwatodai.

…Might as well get to my dorm.

Yes, I managed to land myself a dorm to stay in for the school year. Uncle had no qualms about it. He never really cared whatever happened to me.

Anyway, as I walked through the streets of Iwatodai, I noticed that Funeral Time had a much more devastating effect to this city than any other I had been to during Funeral Time. The smell of blood was much more prevalent. The clouds spiralled uncontrollably in the skies; I'd often dizzy myself watching them swirl. The ground was often unchanged during Funeral Time back in Osaka, but, in Iwatodai, the ground resembled a massive checkerboard, with black and white squares lined all across the streets.

Funeral Time must have a strong influence over Iwatodai. Heh. I might get more than I bargained for…

I made it to my dorm. I spent fifty, fifty-six minutes getting over here. Funeral Time will be over soon.

I entered the dorm, and the eerie feeling returned to me. Oh, it wasn't because of Funeral Time, far from it. It was because there was some kid wearing prison garb sitting at the counter, staring at me intently with eyes deader than that of a corpse's. His skin was obscenely pale, and he looked like he was no older than ten.

"Good evening," the creepy kid piped up. "I've been waiting a long time for you." He's been…waiting for me? Why? How does he even know me? Who the hell is this kid anyway? "If you want to proceed, then please sign here," the kid said. "It's a contract."

He pointed to a paper on the counter, which had the words 'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will' written right above the signature line. "There's no need to be scared." Okay, this kid is trying to scare me. I dislike him already. "It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions." Oh, is _that_ all?

I signed the contract. What else would you expect me to do? I mean, the kid looks like he's ready and willing to claw my eyes out with his bare fingernails while biting down my throat and ripping out my larynx with his teeth.

"Very well," he said, after I had written my name down on the signature line. "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. And so it begins…" The kid vanished into the shadows. Little creep. Now, to get some rest!

"Who's there!?"

Crap.


	3. First Meetings

**CHAPTER THREE: FIRST MEETINGS**

I turned to find myself face to face with a brunette donning pink garb. She had a softly-featured face, beautiful brown eyes that seemed to complement the sharp fringes of her hair, and fair skin. She was also breathing heavily and staring me down as if I was some sort of sex offender.

Wait a minute, it's still Funeral Time. Two minutes to spare before things turn back to normal

…How is she active during Funeral Time? Shouldn't she be…you know, a coffin? Unless…

"How can you be- but it's-!" she was shaking. Her legs were trembling. Her hands were fidgeting. She was afraid of me. Why? Why would she be afraid of me? I mean, sure, it looks like I broke into her dorm in a time period where everyone turns into funerary boxes, but she's the one who's got a gun!

…Holy crap, she's got a gun. And she's reaching for it!

"H-hey, wait!" I exclaimed, hoping that she would allow me to speak. She wouldn't. She unsheathed her pistol, which had the label 'S.E.E.S.' engraved on its barrel, and began grasping its handle with both hands, pointing the barrel to her forehead…

Wait, her forehead? "Hold on! Don't-!" I shouted, trying to stop her from doing whatever the hell she planned to do.

"Takeba! Wait!"

Both I and the brunette turned our heads to the direction of the voice, which sounded like it demanded authority and exercised it often.

The lights turned back on. Funeral Time was over. The smell of blood disappeared, and, from the corner of my eye, I saw, through a nearby window, that all coffins had reverted back into people.

I turned my head for the third time, and I saw a redheaded woman who looked a year older than me, standing proudly and triumphantly in front of me and the brunette. She had a nearly flawless figure and beautiful skin which almost looked…polished. She must've been the owner of the voice I and the brunette had heard.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late," the redhead said. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

Wait-Kirijo? "You're Mitsuru Kirijo?" I questioned.

"Yes," Mitsuru replied. "I am the daughter of Takeharu Kirijo, founder of the Kirijo Group." Wow. This is pretty much the equivalent of meeting Yumi Kawamura by chance, in a crummy motel.

"Who's he?" the brunette asked, finally having the courage to speak up after our near-fatal encounter.

"His name is Makoto Yuki. He's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm," Mitsuru said.

"Is it okay for him to be here?" said the brunette, as she scanned me from head to toe cautiously.

"I guess we'll see," Mitsuru said, grinning ever so confidently. She then made gestures to the brunette, who seemed rather embarrassed.

"This is Yukari Takeba," said Mitsuru. "She'll be a junior this spring, just like you." Yukari was still fidgeting as she turned her head to me, greeting me.

"H-hi, I'm Yukari," she said, nervously. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. I'd probably act the same way, in her shoes. I probably wouldn't put a gun to my head, though, when confronted with a situation like this…

Oh, that reminds me, "Why do you have a gun?" I asked her bluntly.

"H-huh?!" she said, as she jumped back a little in surprise. What a normal reaction to an extremely strange yet valid question. "W-well…" she said, with signs of anxiety in her voice.

"It's for self-defense," Mitsuru stepped in. "It's not a real gun, of course."

Why would you count on a fake gun for self-defense? Ugh, screw it, I don't care anymore. I feel tired right now. Wait…I'm feeling tired? Could it be that my persistent episodes of insomnia have finally subsided? Finally! Took you long enough! I can feel my-

"It's getting late, so I advise you to get some rest," Mitsuru said, interrupting my thoughts. "Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

"Oh, I'll show you the way," Yukari finally had the courage to speak to me. She also wore a rather pretty smile on her face. "Follow me."

As we walked up the stairs, she said something about keys, and how important it is to remember where you put them, and yadda yadda yadda, I just want to get some sleep! Although, I have to admit, the dorm looked rather nice. It's well-lit, the carpets are soft and comforting to sore feet, it's air-conditioned perfectly, and-

"Here we are," Yukari said, interrupting my thoughts. "It's pretty easy to remember, right? I mean, it _is_ right at the end of the hall. So, do you have any questions?"

Actually… "Who's the kid?" I asked innocently.

"…What kid?" Yukari questioned, her brow arched and her lips pursed.

"There was a kid in here wearing prison garb who told me to sign a contract…on second thought, never mind." She must think I'm a loony right now…

"...It's not funny, you know..." Wow, she took it better than I thought she would.

"Hey…" Yukari said, as she looked at me with signs of hesitance strewn all around her face. "On your way here from the station, was everything okay?" She knows about Funeral Time. I can see it all over her face. Miss Kirijo back there probably knows about it too.

Hmm…should I try screwing around with her? Nah. It'd be best to just play the dumb guy for now. She'd probably start acting paranoid around me, and the last thing I want right now is being distrusted.

"No, not really," I responded.

"Oh. Okay," Yukari said. "Well, um… I guess I'll see you around."

I nodded and stared at my door dumbly as Yukari headed off into the hallway. I was wondering, just what did Kirijo and Yukari know about Funeral Time? Yukari was fidgeting the whole time we were talking, and Mitsuru, despite her commanding voice, I could tell she was trying to hide something. The hole in her excuse about the guns was far too big to ignore, too.

Just what were they hiding from me?

"Hey…" Yukari said to me. She must've noticed my zoning out right in front of my door. "I'm sure you have other questions, but let's save those for later, okay?" she said sweetly. "Good night."

"Night," I said in response, playing the oblivious, innocent fool again. She seemed to buy it, as she smiled at me before heading back to the lounge. I could hear Mitsuru and Yukari conversing, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ehh. Too sleepy to make sense of it.

I entered my room with a sigh, and found that it was actually quite roomy. My bed sheets and curtains were navy blue, like my hair (no, I didn't dye it). The room was painted in white, an almost creamy shade of white. All my things were here, true to Mitsuru's words. I scrambled through my things, looking for my most prized possession.

"Ah, here it is…" I said, with satisfaction, after finding my prized short sword underneath all my bags of luggage and supplies. I had won it after receiving a gold medal in a prestigious Kendo competition three years ago. It was one of the biggest achievements of my life.

I admired its shine, and how it hadn't rusted, even after all these years. It was basically the most beautiful weapon I've ever seen, what, with its short but sharp blade, its black, soft hilt, and its gorgeous gleam. And yet, the only thing I had to do to get it was win a game.

I couldn't help but chuckle at how lucky I was. I placed it in my closet as I plopped my body onto the bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Finally…after a decade of nearly sleepless, insomnia-plagued nights…I got a good night's rest.

And then I woke up again.

I found myself in a black, empty void of a place. It was cold to the point of me nearly getting hypothermia. No joke. I felt the ground behind me, my knees having collapsed to the floor from the sheer freezing temperatures. It was marble. Marble, and, like the air, cold as ice. And then, I heard a giggle come from behind me. I turned to see a little girl. She was rather short, but had the smile of an angel. She also had red eyes, which seemed to pierce deep into my soul.

I remembered who she was.

"H-Hamuko…?"

She giggled again, and ran towards a blue door, hand-in-hand with…the boy who wore prison garb.

"Hamuko, wait!" I screamed, in an unusually raspy voice. I ran towards them, my cold joints aching from the sudden jerking movements I made during my mad dash. She opened the door and ran inside. I followed suit, only to end up in a room, colored a deep navy blue.

Surrounding me were six doors, three on my right side, and three on my left. Two of the doors were, for some reason, blanketed by a white sheet, which, due to the reflection of the blue around the room, appeared to be blue as well.

Hamuko was nowhere to be found.

I suddenly realized that I was sitting in a seat that, to my fascination, was, in some parts of its structure, shaped like a lyre. I looked around me, and I saw that I wasn't in a room at all; I was in a massive elevator, with a blue velvet carpet spread all across the floor.

I looked up to see a massive yellow-and-blue clock tower over me, its hands moving rather quickly, then, slowing down to match the movements of a regular clock, until pausing upon reaching the time 12:00.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

I looked across from me and spotted a hunchbacked, white-haired, decrepit, tuxedo-wearing old man, whose eyes were wide, eerie, and bloodshot, and whose nose was about as long as my forearm. "My name is Igor," he said, his already wide and somewhat disturbing smile growing even wider. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

I gave a puzzled look at him as he continued, "This is Elizabeth." He gestured his hand to a young woman, who had platinum blonde hair, was adorned in the (of course) blue outfit of a bellhop. "She is a resident here, like myself."

"Pleased to meet you," Elizabeth said as she gave me a soft stare with her unsettling yellow eyes.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been years since we've last had a guest…" Igor's grin stretched to inhuman proportions as he handed me the very contract I had signed the night I first stepped in the dorm. What's his connection between him and the boy…?

"Henceforth, you shall be welcome here, in the Velvet Room," Igor continued. "You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will need my help to do so." And, what, again, is my unique ability? "I only ask one thing in return…" I gulped. "That you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make." Oh, thank God. I thought, for a second, he was going to say, 'your soul,' or something…

I need answers, though. "I…don't quite understand any of this," I said, honestly.

"That's completely fine…for now…" Okay, Igor, you're starting to freak me out, here…

"Hold on to this, boy…" Igor handed me a blue key, which, for some reason, looked metallic in design, but felt like cloth. What is this guy's obsession with velvet?

"Uh…" I tried asking him more. I needed more answers than this. This was too freaky to be just some dream. There was something going on here.

"'Till we meet again," Igor said, waving his hand at me.

"W-wait!" I tried in vain to converse with the hunchback more, only to find the blue door careening towards me, and, with a loud, crashing sound, everything turned black again.


	4. Going to Gekkoukan High

**CHAPTER FOUR: GOING TO GEKKOUKAN HIGH**

_That_ was a weird dream.

I awoke to a creamy white ceiling. I scanned my surroundings wearily, still unused to sleeping as peacefully as I did just last night. I realized I was still in my school clothes, a black jacket with a red, black, and white Gekkoukan pin attached to the left breast pocket, black, slick pants, and a plain, white undershirt.

I sighed heavily as I sat up, still tired as hell, for some reason. Unfortunately, there's one thing standing in my way of another nap: my first day of school. I hope it's not going to be too long-someone's knocking on my door.

"Hey, it's Yukari. Are you awake?" Yukari piped up, from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I said, exhaustedly, as I headed for the door and opened it with a deadpanned face.

"Good morning!" she said, with a friendly voice. Nice to see her acting so happily. It was a pretty relaxing change from the violent and rather frightened side of hers that she showed me just last night. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Better than I have in quite a long time," I replied.

"Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. Are you ready to go?" she asked confidently.

I nodded silently, with a timid smile. I haven't felt this nervous my whole life. I mean, I'm back in the city that had plagued my sanity for years, I'm going to a school run by a company that may or may not have had something to do with the deaths of my parents, and I'm walking to said school with a brunette, who, not too long ago, pulled a gun on me…sort of.

What _was_ she planning to do with that gun…?

We stepped out of the dorm, into the brightness of the early morning sun. My eyes hurt from the intense shine. As I regained my vision, I saw Yukari, absolutely bathed in sunlight. Illuminated, I could see things I hadn't noticed of Yukari before. I saw that her figure was slim, slender, and defined in all the right areas. Her skin, even more fair and pampered than I had first thought it to be. Her brown hair, shining in the beautiful light, revealing a shade of…orange?

I blushed at the sight of her. She was _that_ breathtaking. I haven't felt like this toward a girl since…well, since _ever_. She looked prettier than Mitsuru, believe it or not!

"Um…" she suddenly said. Crap! She must've gotten weirded out by my staring at her. "You going to stare at me all day, or should we continue heading off to school?" Why am I always right…?

"Uh, s-sorry…just a little drowsy is all…" I lied. Or, at least, I tried to lie. She looked like the type who would hate perverts. I wouldn't want to be considered untrustworthy by a girl I had just struck a friendship with.

She sighed and said, "It's alright. Let's go."

She spoke with a somewhat irked, but musical voice. We walked to school as the sun continued to loom over Iwatodai. She told me of how the city worked, how we needed to take the monorail to school, how the school was on a man-made island…

...

How I was not informed of how Gekkoukan was on a man-made island during my research of it, I have absolutely zero idea. And how come I didn't remember a man-made island back then?

…Well, now that I think about it, I've been hearing the words 'Tatsumi Port Island' a lot since I boarded the train to Iwatodai, just yesterday. I guess, in all my depression-filled years of living with resenting relatives, I had forgotten more about Iwatodai than I thought.

We boarded the monorail as Yukari and I kept on chatting. I looked out the windows of the monorail, and I noticed just how much everything had changed in the last ten years. The buildings are bigger, shiner, and much more towering. Technology was much more prevalent than how it was a decade ago. I saw countless cars zipping through the clean and spotless roads with ease.

Everything was different…and this frightened me. I was barely frightened by anything anymore, after everything I've gone through. This, however, was rocking my core, for some reason.

I think it must be an adverse reaction to how new and fresh everything is to me. I now feel like an outsider in this city, despite my being born here. It was really alienating.

I also noticed that everyone in the monorail-and I mean, everyone-was staring at us the whole ride. Most of the guys had jealousy, pent-up rage, anger, frustration, and despair written all over their faces. It was embarrassing, to say the least. The girls, however, showed such emotions as curiosity and surprise. I overheard some of them gossiping in nasal, uptight voices. Urgh.

"This is my favourite part," Yukari said, as I saw the ocean come into full view through the window. It looked fantastic. "It feels like you're gliding over the sea, doesn't it?" she said with a dreamy voice. I nodded while smiling at her on-the-spot observation, admiring the glistening, blue waves of the water.

I could see from the corner of my eye, she was smiling as well. I looked behind me, and the glares of the guys intensified, while the gossips of the girls grew louder and more nasal. I was irked by how much attention we were drawing to ourselves. Was me being with Yukari really all that important? Was Yukari really that popular?

Well, I don't see why not. I mean, she looks the popular type…

"Hey…" Yukari suddenly whispered to me. She probably thought I was checking her out again… Oh, my wandering mind, just when will you stop screwing with me…

"Don't mind them. They're just a little erratic right now. I mean, spring break _just_ ended. You'll get used to it," she said. Huh. Good advice. "Thanks," I said in response. "That helped ease my nervousness…"

"You'll do fine. Everyone's nervous on their first day," Yukari said cheerfully.

"Did you know I was born here?" I said, bluntly. I wanted to get the point across. It did. Yukari's eyes widened in surprise, but it seemed…forced? Anyway, this might be a chance to unload all my stress, so, here goes.

"I was born in Iwatodai. I lived here for seven years, but was taken in by relatives due to certain circumstances. Now, I'm finally back. Calling me 'nervous' would be a bit of an understatement. It's been a full ten years since I was last here, and, now, I see pretty much everything has changed. I don't know how to react to it all."

Of course, I'm not going to tell her anything about Funeral Time.

Anyway, I guess I'm more open than I thought. Huh. I amaze myself, sometimes…

"Don't worry," Yukari said, reassuringly. "You should be feeling happy right now, you know."

I looked at her curiously. Why should I be feeling happy, with all this?

"Seeing how everything's changed, this could be the start of a new beginning for you. You know, you're starting your life over with a clean slate. This could be a golden opportunity for you, Yuki-kun," she said in a subtle, but somewhat empowering way. I couldn't help but smile again at another one of her very keen observations.

"Thank you, Takeba-san," I said, my voice filled with gratefulness.

"Anytime," was her response. I looked behind me, and the guys looked ready to burst, in their unrelenting rage. Oh my God, just what have I gotten myself into?

I saw Tatsumi Port Island from the monorail window, and it was glorious. Honestly, without any form of exaggeration or hyperbole whatsoever, it was the most beautiful mass of land I had ever laid my eyes upon. The buildings were tall enough to reach the sky. The way the light shone off the buildings and into the water, which, in turn, reflected back onto the buildings was as extravagant and eye-catching as anything could ever be.

We got off the monorail and headed to the school after making it to the island. I, with my hands in my pockets, listening to another song, called _Joy_, as Yukari was greeted by several students. She really is popular. I saw several suitors try their hand at winning her heart through sappy words which, honestly, would make any girl sick to their stomachs at how cheesy they were.

We made it to the school gate, and as I saw the school, it looked much bigger than how I had pictured it to be. Then again, everything in Iwatodai became bigger. I shouldn't be surprised at this.

Yukari turned to me suddenly, earning a step back from me, as I gave her a puzzled look. "Welcome to Gekkoukan High, Makoto Yuki! You're going to love it here!" she said to me, with yet another big smile.


	5. New Friends

**CHAPTER FIVE: NEW FRIENDS**

"As you begin the new school year… I'd like each of you to remember the proverb, 'If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. When applied to school life, this means…" God, his delivery is terrible! The principal's just starting with this damn speech, and already I'm bored out of my ass.

Oh, well. On the bright side, before getting here by following my homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi, I found out I'm in the same class as Yukari. At least there's _someone_ I know who's in the same class as me. But, way to start off the new year by having everyone fall asleep at your lame, uninspired speech, Mr. Principal.

…I never knew I could be so snarky towards authorial figures.

"Psst! Hey!" I hear someone calling me from behind. "You came to school with Yukari this morning, right?" he asked. "Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

This guy's _real_ polite. But, hey, at least he's to the point. "No, I don't," I replied.

"Oh. Okay. I thought you would've known, but, guess not. So… how well do you know her?" This guy is such a probe.

"I hear talking!" said a suit-wearing, forty-something year old man, with hair that is so obviously a wig. "I believe it's someone in Ms. Toriumi's class!"

"Be quiet. You're going to get me in trouble!" Ms. Toriumi snarled at Mr. Pretentious, who grunted as a response. The probe shut his mouth, afraid to catch the attention of the two quarrelling educators. Good for him. He was getting on my nerves a little.

After the speech ended, I heard a resound "Finally!" come from one of the students. He was wearing a baseball cap and had a prominent goatee growing off from his chin. He seemed like a loser. Better keep my distance from him. My classroom was class 2F. As I strolled through the halls, heading for my assigned room, I noticed just how lively the school was.

For one thing, I overheard a loud argument between two dark-skinned students, one of whom was wearing a track suit, despite the fact that the sports clubs haven't even been opened yet. I also saw a teacher and a blonde-haired student with a strange accent loudly chatting about how awesome the samurai were. There was even a brown-haired student who was pining for a Ms. Kanou to be his homeroom teacher, but his hopes were crushed at how she was set to be the homeroom teacher for a different class.

I entered and saw dozens of people chatting with their friends, sleeping, or looking out the window, acting like some sort of anime character. I placed my bag behind my seat and proceed to drift off to sleep. A sweet, sweet sleep…

"'Sup, dude?"

Whoever this guy was, he was asking for it.

I raised my head and turned to see the baseball cap-wearing, goatee-faced guy from earlier. Upon seeing him, I noticed he had the smile of a naive idiot plastered on his face. I didn't really want much business with him, so I tried keeping our time together brief. "What do you want?" I asked. I forced a tinge of impoliteness into my voice so that he'd get the message quicker.

"Hey, at least let me introduce myself first!" I felt sad for this guy already. "My name's Junpei Iori. I transferred here when I was in 8th grade. I know how tough it is, being the new kid… So, I just wanted to say, 'hey.' See what a nice guy I am?" Good intentions, this one has. Still, though, he's an egotist.

"At it again, huh?" Yukari said, in an annoyed tone of voice. "I swear, you'll talk to anyone who'll listen."

Junpei turned to her with a smile, saying, "Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again."

Yukari sighed, looking exhausted. "Don't you think you might be bothering someone?" she said, her voice laced with irritation. Trust me, Yukari, I understand completely.

Junpei's face changed from its happy-go-lucky demeanor to a look of surprise. It looked slightly feigned. "Wha-I was just being friendly!" His eyes were wide and his jaw was low. He looked embarrassing.

Yukari sighed again, slightly smirking and with an eyebrow arched, she said, "If you say so. Anyway, looks like we're in the same homeroom, huh?" she said to me, turning her back on an apologetic-looking Junpei.

"It's just a coincidence," I said. Yeah, even after all I've seen, I'm still not that big a believer on fate and destiny, and all that crap about how 'my path is predetermined…' It got old really fast.

"I know, but still." Yukari seemed slightly turned off by my bluntness. "Um, hello?" Oh, Junpei, I forgot you were still here. Wait, you were still here? "Are you forgetting that I'm in this class, too?" Ah, shaddup, you whiny pansy.

"By the way…" Uh, Junpei, what's with that grin on your face? "I heard you two came to school together this morning…" Oh, God, not this bullcrap again. "What's up with that? Come on, gimme the dirt!" Junpei, I swear to God, you are getting on my nerves. I am _this_ close to knocking you out like a ligh-

"Wha-!" Yukari yelped in surprise, blushing at Junpei's rather personal comment. "What are you talking about? We live in the same dorm! There's absolutely nothing going on, okay?" Put him in his place, girl.

"Why are people even talking about it? Now you have me worried!" Hey, what about me? I mean, I'm in just as bad a situation as you, Yukari. At least you don't have dozens of jealous schoolboys just waiting for a chance to gut you like a fish…

Yes, all the guys are still glaring at me as if I'm some bully who stole their lunch money. I hate getting this much attention.

"Hey," Yukari whispered to me. Oh, no, now the guys are grabbing forks from their bags… "You didn't tell anyone about…you-know-what, did you?" Yukari asked me, anxiously.

"Nope," I said. I knew she knew something about Funeral Time. I just knew it…

"Okay, good." Yukari breathed a sigh of relief. She looked like a huge weight had been lifted off her-

"Seriously, don't tell anyone about last night, okay?"

…Did she honestly just say that? And was that as loud as I thought it was?

"L-last night…?" Thanks for putting more salt in the wound, Junpei. Now, all the guys behind us are…crying?

"W-wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" Yukari, how could they _not_ get the wrong idea after what you just said?

"Listen!" She was desperately trying to salvage this situation. "I just met him yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing going on between us!" I almost laughed out loud at how red her face was. I couldn't, though. For one thing, she'd probably kill me for it, and for another, she's already had enough embarrassment for today.

"Geez…" she said as she cooled down. "I got to go. I've got archery practice to take care of. But you better not start any rumors, Stupei!" she said.

'Stupei…?'

"H-hey, quit calling me that!" Junpei said, rather ticked off. "Ah, who cares about rumors anyway? No one takes them seriously. She's so paranoid…" True, Junpei, true.

I talked with Junpei as we strolled around the city. It turned out that he wasn't that bad a guy. In fact, he even paid the bill when we ate at a fast-food restaurant called Wild-Duck Burger. He was kind of a slacker, sure, but, he seemed pretty reliable when he needed to be.

He showed me around this mall called Paulownia, which, on the outside, was rather bland-looking, compared to all the other buildings on the island. On the inside, though, everything was as extravagant as it could be.

There was a karaoke box, an arcade, a nightclub, even an Internet café in this place. If that didn't impress you, all of it comprised approximately one-tenth of the entire building. I was too lazy and tired to go through the other sections of the mall, so, I called it a day with Junpei and returned to the dorm.

It was 8:00 PM by the time I got back. Four hours till Funeral Time.

"Oh, he's back," Yukari said. I saw, right beside her, sitting in the reddish-brown armchair, was a long-haired, bespectacled man with a brown suit, black shoes, and an annoyingly jolly smile smeared across his jaw.

"So, this is our new guest," he said, with a booming, cheerful voice. "My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the chairman of the board for your school. 'Ikutsuki.' Heh. Hard to say, isn't it? I don't really like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes." A wee bit too much information there, pal.

He held out his hand for me to shake it. I didn't like leaving people hanging, so I shook it, satisfying him.

"I apologise for the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment," he said with a smile.

"Do you have any questions?"

Well…

"Why did you come here?" I asked, honestly curious.

"To welcome you, of course." Ikutsuki's smug face made me want to punch him. I don't know why, but there's something about him that makes me want to smack him right in the kisser.

"But, then again, I do have other business to attend to, here. Speaking of which, where's Mitsuru, Yukari?" he said, diverting his attention away from me, and directing it towards Yukari.

"She's upstairs," Yukari replied.

"As diligent as always…well, it can't hurt to come down and say hello, every once in a while…" Ikutsuki trailed off.

"Do you have another question?" he asked.

"Not really," I said, in response.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year." Ikutsuki stood up from the armchair and faced me. "You must be tired from all the excitement." Um, not really… "You should go to bed early. As they say, the early bird catches the bookworm!"

…That…stunk.

"…Please forgive the bad pun." Ikutsuki bowed before me, heading up the stairs soon after, presumably for his supposed 'business' with Mitsuru.

"You'll get used to his lame jokes," Yukari said, trying to lighten up the mood a bit, upon seeing my reaction to his _horrendous_ pun.

"I don't know if I ever will…" I said, eyes glazed. I was really tired, and I was eager to get another night of peaceful sleep.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Right now, I have to rest…" I said, tiredly. Yukari wished me sweet dreams as I headed up to my room.

I glanced out the window to find a full moon hovering in the night sky. It was beautiful. Too bad Funeral Time completely ruined my perception of the moon just a few nights ago…

Anyway, time to sleep!


	6. Arcana Magician

**CHAPTER SIX: ARCANA MAGICIAN**

I can't sleep.

Insomnia, you've screwed me over again.

It's Funeral Time again. I looked around my room, which shone a bright emerald green. The smell of blood started getting into my nose. It…smelled worse than it had in a long time. I thought I had gotten used to the smell of gore.

Just yesterday, the smell was above average in how disgusting it was, when I compared it to how bad Osaka would smell in Funeral Time, but now, it feels like it's raping my nostrils. Ugh. I leapt up from my bed, planning to go to the restroom to relieve myself. I hope the bathrooms here won't smell that bad...

As I was about to exit the room, a red dot caught my eye. It was attached to the wall. I couldn't see it very clearly. Did I mention Funeral Time affects your vision to some degree? Even with how used I am to this time period, my vision hasn't adapted to it much.

Upon closer inspection, I found that it wasn't a red dot I was looking at.

It was a camera. A surveillance camera. And it was recording me right now.

*CRASH!*

What in the hell was that?

I grabbed my short sword and prepared myself for whatever I'd have to face. I was scared, to say the least, but, hey, I am not going down without a fight! Even though I'm sweating bullets right now…

I heard two slams pound on my door, and, raising my blade, I focused myself on the task at hand: kill whatever tries to kill me. "It's Yukari!" a voice exclaimed, from the other side of the door.

Yukari?

I opened it, only for her to grab me by the soldiers, her face pale from fear. She was sweating bullets, too.

"Hurry! We have to get out of here!" her voice was urgent and demanding. "No time to explain! Come on!" I nodded, carrying my blade with me, just in case I'd end up having to defend myself.

Yukari, frightened to the point where she's paying no heed to my awesome-as-hell blade, pulled me by the arm and took me to the rooftop, breathing heavily all the while.

"We should be safe up here…" she said, uneasily.

"What do you mean, 'should be?'" I asked her, irritated at both my exhaustion, and my lack of knowledge surrounding the situation.

Could this get any worse? Apparently, so, because Yukari's face paled again.

"Look out!" she screamed, pushing me aside, away from a massive fireball flung in my general direction.

I turned to see a massive creature, composed of nothing but huge, black arms, each one wielding ten-inch knives. The only part of the beast that resembled a head was a blue mask, which, unsurprisingly, was also held by a black hand.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, to no one in particular.

"That creature attacked this place. We call it a Shadow," Yukari said, with a firm, yet somehow frightened tone of voice.

She grabbed her gun. Yes! Shoot that thing to Kingdom Come!

Wait, she started pointing it to her head again. WHAT?!

"NO!" I screamed, rather loudly.

The Shadow blasted her with a fireball, knocking the gun out from her hands, and sending her careening to the floor, burnt and bruised.

"AGH!" she yelled. I ran over to her, blade in hand. I stared that multi-armed monster down with ferocious, driven eyes. I won't let her die…I won't let anyone else die during Funeral Time EVER AGAIN!

I swung my blade two and fro, severing a few of the Shadow's arms in the process. I picked up one of its blades, and gave a bashful pose before sprinting towards it and slashing at several of its other arms violently and crazily, severing them as well. It roared in agony. Keep screaming, you faceless piece of crap!

It span around, aimlessly, as if hoping for one of its massive knives to cut through me. I dodged every single one of its attempts to slash at me, however, I did get nicked by one of the blades every once in a while. My training in Kendo gave me an almost instinctual sense of timing, and, upon calculating how long it took for the Shadow to raise one of its blades and swing it at me (0.9 seconds, if you're asking), the fight became a piece of cake.

The short sword I used, while meant as more of a trophy than an actual weapon, was quite sharp, and it severed the Shadow's limbs quite easily. It roared at me, as if irritated at my prowess. I kept on slashing as it kept on swinging. My attacks were careful, concise, and critical, while its attacks were mindless, unfocused, and quite amateurish.

It basically had no arms left, by the time I was done with my onslaught. To my surprise, it was starting to disintegrate. Already? Wow. It was weaker than I thought. As its masses of arms for a body died down, the Shadow cried and wailed a sound I could only describe as esoteric moaning. By the end, only its mask remained. So did its ten-inch knives, which creeped me out slightly.

I turned to see a shell shocked Yukari looking at me with both awe and absolute fright.

"Are you okay?" I asked, casually. She nodded rapidly as a response. I took that as a no.

I moved in, walking ever so slowly towards the blue mask. I stared it down, and was annoyed by how it seemed to look straight back at me. It had a pointed nose, a line for a mouth, and two circular eyeholes which, for some reason, made me feel as if it was mocking me.

I raised my foot up, and tried crushing the mask underneath my pointed shoes. "Tried" being the key word.

The mask, while seemingly brittle on the outside, was actually fairly tough. I then felt the mask vibrate as it gave off an eerie cackling sound.

I should've known it was too easy.

I lifted my foot and jumped backwards, as, out from under the mask, sprouted several more arms, much more massive in length and in width when compared to its previous limbs. One of the arms grabbed me by the leg, raised me up, and slammed my right side onto the hard rooftop floor about ten times, before hurling me straight into Yukari.

Yukari yelped as we collided into each other, and the Shadow closed in on us, laughing at us with a shrill, banshee-like voice. I hate being laughed at. I picked up one of the ten-inch knives, stood up to allow myself more freedom, and hurled it into the Shadow's mask; the blade pierced the mask deep as the Shadow roared in pain.

So, it seems weapons created by the Shadows are the most efficient ones to use against them. No wonder it was in so much pain when I slashed it with its own blade earlier. I reached my hand down to get another ten-inch knife, but then, I felt a sharp pain down my ribcage.

And, by 'sharp pain,' I meant, 'cripplingly painful ulcer-like degeneration of my ribs.'

I keeled over, unable to bear the pain of my wounds. This must be from when the Shadow slammed me into the pavement of the rooftop…damn, this hurts! I haven't felt this bad since-

"Makoto!" Yukari rushed over to my side, understandably worried as hell. The Shadow was busy dealing with the blade stuck in its mask as Yukari pointed that gun she had earlier to her head yet again.

…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!

DON'T SHOOT YOURSELF! Shoot the Shadow, dammit! Save yourself! RUN! What, you expect me to protect you?! I can't move! I can't speak! I-I think I'm going into shock! My ribcage is bursting open-! I-I can feel the bone! I can feel the meat of my ribs ripping apart! I'M GOING TO DIE! JUST RU-

Wait…I'm going to…I'm going to die? No! NO! NOT NOW! Not when I've just gotten here! NOT WHEN I'M SO CLOSE! NO! NO! NO, NO, NO!

NOT YET! M-Mom…Dad…Hamuko…I need to avenge them, DAMMIT! I can't die now! I CAN'T! NOT YET, GODDAMMIT! Goddammit…I…can't…

Oh, God…the Shadow…it's…IT'S COMING FOR US! It's…it's going straight for Yukari!

JUST SHOOT THE DAMN THING, YUKARI! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT NOW! BEFORE IT KILLS YOU-!

*BANG!*


	7. Persona

**CHAPTER SEVEN: PERSONA**

"Io! Dia!"

I clutched my side in pain as Yukari used the gun to blast through her head. Instead of grey matter and brain stuffs spilling from her skull, out came a gigantic bull head which looked mechanical in design, and, on it, was the metallic figure of a young woman, with flowing brown hair streaming in all directions from her head.

In what felt like a second, all the pain I was feeling vanished instantaneously. My ribcage had repaired itself, all the blood spilt had returned to their respective veins and arteries, and the mashed, ruined flesh around my ribs was healed to the point where a wound was barely even seen.

Io healed me. The thing that floated above Yukari's head healed me. This…is seriously the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

My jaw dropped, and my ribs cracked again as the multi-armed monster tossed me aside, my body colliding into the metal fence.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried, before turning to the Shadow with furious, determined eyes.

"Io! Garu!" she shouted, facing the Shadow head-on, as Io blasted the beast with a torrential gust of wind.

The tiles on the roof were blown away by the fury of Io's wind attack. The fence facing Yukari was blasted off the very rooftop. The Shadow was clinging onto the roof, roaring defiantly at Yukari and…whatever Io was. It crawled slowly towards Yukari, wailing loudly all the while.

As awestruck as I was, I knew that this wind attack wouldn't last. Either Yukari would give out from exhaustion, or the Shadow would find some way to counterattack. I had to find a way to help her fight this damn thing!

I found another of the Shadow's blades lying around. I looked around for my trusted short sword, hoping to use it as a secondary weapon in the fight, only to find it broken at the blade. I must've destroyed it while fighting the Shadow.

"Takeba!"

Mitsuru came rushing in through the rooftop door, along with a silver-haired young man with a bloodied right arm.

"Mitsuru! Akihiko! Be careful! It's appears to be vulnerable to elemental attacks!" Ikutsuki was there, too, directing Mitsuru and the silver-haired man.

The two unsheathed their own silver guns, pointed them to their heads, and pulled the triggers without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Persona!" they both shouted.

Out from Mitsuru's head came a sword-and-dagger wielding creature, which had the figure of a woman, and it wore blue armor over what seemed to be regular clothing, aside from the clothing on its legs, which resembled stockings to a disturbing degree. It also wore a knight's helmet which had a small crown, or tiara, placed prominently on top of it.

Out of the silver-haired guy's head came a titanic, white, blonde-haired beast with a massive right arm, turquoise skin, armor that resembled a bulletproof vest, and…red feet that were not unlike women's heels.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, even as the two creatures mercilessly beat down the Shadow, nearly tearing apart the whole roof.

Mitsuru's…Persona (?) used ice attacks to freeze the Shadow in place as the silver-haired guy's Persona beat down the creature with its massive right hand. Yukari's Persona, all the while, was blasting the Shadow down with piercingly painful wind attacks. I almost felt sorry for the Shadow, upon seeing how badly beaten up it was getting. Almost.

"Where were you guys?!" Yukari asked, upping the volume of her voice due to how loud the beatdown was.

"The Shadow's minions were keeping us at bay!" Ikutsuki said. "Remember, it can separate itself into pieces at will."

It could separate itself? This thing's already powerful when it as one piece! How much more of a challenge was it if it was separated into two, or four, or any more than that!?

As if to mock everyone present, the Shadow cackled again. In a massive burst of energy straight from the Shadow's blue, irritating mask, Mitsuru, Yukari, and silver-hair were all knocked back, Yukari's gun rolling to my feet. Ikutsuki was knocked down the stairs, yelping unceremoniously as he fell unconscious. Everyone but me was dusted by the blast, and I could only watch in disgust as the Shadow laughed once more.

The Shadow split itself into five black blobs composed of nothing but arms and a black, viscous fluid-like material. The whole process was gross as hell.

They crawled over to us, preparing to rip us apart, limb by limb. Like hell was I about to let that happen. I grabbed another one of the Shadow's blades, and, with swords in both hands, I was prepared to fight to protect a trio of teenagers I barely knew.

Before charging in, I noticed Yukari's gun right next to my feet. I picked it up, uneasily, as the Shadows enclosed in on us. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have this 'Persona' power that these guys had. What was I supposed to do? Point it at my head, and shoot, hoping for something to happe-

"Go on…" I lifted my head up to see…

I saw the boy. The boy from earlier, who wore prison garb and made me sign that creepy-ass contract.

"Can you do it?" he said, calmly, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to point a gun at your head and pull the trigger.

I, for some insane reason, pointed the gun to my head. I was breathing heavily. I was scared as all hell. I was trembling. My knees were like two worn, broken sticks. Yet, somehow…I felt a sense of…familiarity again.

I…

I remember.

That thing at the Moonlight Bridge ten years ago…that…that must've been a Shadow.

What else could it have been? It was a huge, gaseous, but recognizable and monstrous creature that only appeared in Funeral Time.

A Shadow killed my family. Mom, Dad, Hamuko…they're all dead, because of that Shadow.

A Shadow killed my family…

A Shadow killed my family.

A Shadow...killed…

A SHADOW KILLED MY FAMILY!

"PERSONA!"


	8. The Master of Strings & the God of Death

**CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MASTER OF STRINGS AND THE GOD OF DEATH**

"PERSONA!"

I pulled the trigger, and out of my head came what looked like a mechanical version of me. It had white hair, a blood-red scarf, white legs which resembled massive boots, silver ball-and-socket joints, and a speaker for a waist. It had a massive lyre hanging off from its back, too.

"_**Thou art I… and I am thou…" **_a voice rang, in my mind.

"_**From the sea of thy soul, I cometh…I am Orpheus, Master of Strings…"**_

This is amazing.

"**Crush them**," I said, venom dripping from my voice. Orpheus lifted his lyre above his head and smashed it down on one of the blobs, squishing it, but not completely destroying it. I had him smash the lyre onto the blob repeatedly, until it finally disappeared into nothing. For as strong as the shadow was, it was nothing to Orpheus' lyre, despite being absolutely pummelled by Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru.

Either the Shadow was getting weaker, or I was just more powerful. I'll take the latter.

The other four pieces of the Shadow reunited into that multi-armed beast, but it looked like it was disoriented. It was dizzy and weak as hell, but it was still trying its damndest to fight me off.

My patience with this thing is wearing pretty thin-

*CRACK*

AARGH!

What the hell is this!? Feels like a massive nail being driven into my skull!

Orpheus roared, apparently sharing my pain, as a massive beast emerged from his body, ripping it into pieces. It seemed like a Persona, but, it felt as if…it wasn't even a part of me. It felt like some invader.

It wore a helmet which resembled a skull. It was dressed in black garb which I couldn't help but compare to a pea coat, for some reason. A belt with a gold buckle was wrapped around its waist, it wielded a massive blade which almost looked like a katana, and to top it all off, there were a bunch of coffins floating around him, attached to a chain which looked lazily draped around his shoulders.

And it kicked ass!

It used its humongous blade to cut through the Shadow, pounding it down with its other hand all the while, mashing it to death as it wailed loudly in torment and pain. To think, this Persona was not even under my control.

Orpheus was. I commanded his every move. But this Persona was completely autonomous the entire time he was beating the Shadow down. It was a glorious and somewhat hilarious sight to behold.

The thing roared triumphantly, proud of its handiwork. I cackled as it roared, like a madman. I was surprised at how much I was enjoying this turn of events.

"_**THOU ART I, AND I AM THOU! FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL, I COMETH! I AM THANATOS, LORD OF THE DEAD!"**_ the voice of Thanatos rang in my mind, like Orpheus', but the volume it was at was nearly crippling.

Thanatos vanished. It was all over. I turned, and all I saw were nothing but looks of shock, fear, and awe plastered on the faces of the trio I just saved. Thanatos' roar must've woken them up.

"You okay?" I asked casually.

"H-how…?" Yukari's voice cracked.

"I take that as a yes…" I said, before collapsing.


	9. Revisiting the Velvet Room

**CHAPTER NINE: REVISITING THE VELVET ROOM**

"It's so nice to see you again."

I opened my eyes. Forcibly. I looked around me, and realized that, once again, I had made it to the Velvet Room, and there Igor was, sitting across from me on his blue couch, his back hunched, and his grin as wide as could be.

Igor continued, "I see that you have finally awakened to your 'power…'" I gave him a weary look. "Is this the 'unique ability' you told me about just two nights ago?" I asked, demandingly.

"Interesting. It seems that it was Orpheus who heeded your calling," Igor said, seemingly ignoring my query.

I jerked my head to the side, after seeing something form in the corner of my eye. It was Orpheus, sitting by my right, on his own lyre-shaped chair, looking straight ahead at Igor, then at me, with shining red eyes. He blinked.

"Where's Thanatos?" I asked.

"Thanatos is in no need of your concern, at this point, child," Igor replied, his fingers entwined with each other. "Now, then, the power you used to summon Orpheus is called, 'Persona;' a manifestation of your psyche."

"I think I need a little more than that, Quasimodo," I said. I wasn't even bothering to hide my irritation at my ignorance towards this entire situation.

"Think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships," Igor said, in response to my rather disrespectful words. "It is a facet of your personality that surfaces when you react to external stimuli."

I nodded.

"Usage of the power of Persona requires you to channel into your inner strength. Your powers evolve as you develop your Social Links." Wait, what?

"Social Links?" I asked.

"Social Links are the emotional ties you have with others," Igor answered.

"The stronger they are, the stronger your Personas become…" Igor chuckled upon saying all this. He sounded pretty sinister, but, somehow, relaxed my nerves, even as a mechanical, white-haired being which sat beside me, and apparently came from my psyche, stared at me intently with blood-red eyes.

"Remember that, my young master." Master?

"Time marches on in your world," he said, whimsically. "I shouldn't keep you here any longer. Next time we meet, you shall come here of your own accord." How? "Until then, farewell."

A blue door came rushing at me from behind, and, with yet another crashing sound, I exited the Velvet Room.


	10. Hospitals

**CHAPTER TEN: HOSPITALS**

I hate hospitals.

I really do. I hate their bland, white walls, their flimsy little blue gowns, the wires and plugs and pipes that seem to be everywhere during a crisis, their irritating speakers, the nurses and doctors who say "everything's going to be okay," before jabbing you in the arm with a needle…

And guess how I felt when I found out I was in one the moment I woke up. Hint: like crap.

"Urgh…" I groaned. I glanced at the clock right above the TV that sat on the table across from me. It read 5:47. I was out for seventeen hours?

"You're awake!"

Yukari was at my bedside. That was a pleasant sight. After last night, it was something that seemed like kind of a reward. "Um, how do you feel…?" she asked, tensely.

"Kind of queasy, but I think I'll manage…" I said weakly.

"Thank goodness, you finally came to." Wait, finally? "This is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you. He said you were just exhausted."

Yukari's face then stopped looking worried, and gave a look of…annoyance? "How much sleep do you need?" She raised her voice. "It's been a full week!"

…A week? "I've been out for a week?"

"Well, yeah…um…" Yukari tensed up again. "I'm sorry about what happened…I should've done a better job of defending you…but your power…it was amazing!"

"What were those things, anyway? Those 'Shadows?'" I asked.

She replied, "We don't really know what the Shadows are, unfortunately. There are a few theories here and there, but we really don't have a clue." Her hands fidgeted around with each other.

"And the power you used…we call it 'Persona.' We'll explain everything you need to know later." Finally! Some answers! "Sorry I didn't tell you about it before…" Yukari's eyes were downcast. "I…"

"What's bothering you?" I asked.

"I wanted to tell you that…I'm…I'm sort of like you." Yukari faced me with sad eyes.

"My dad died, when I was little. There was a big explosion in the area, and he supposedly died in the blast. Ever since, my mom and I haven't been on really good terms…" she said, trailing off. "You're all alone too, right?"

I sighed, remembering my family's death. "To be honest…" Yukari continued. "…I already know about your past." Oh. "But, it didn't seem fair, so, I wanted you to know about mine." I…don't know how to feel about that…

"My dad was working for a lab run by the Kirijo Group," she said. "I'm hoping that, if I stick around long enough, I'd find out something. That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you."

…This is really weird. Our backstories are pretty much the same. We both lost our parents when we were children, we both decided to attend Gekkoukan High to find out more about their deaths, and, we both ended up with Personas.

Maybe the concept of fate isn't so far off after all…

"I'm sorry. You wouldn't have to go through all this if I did a better job of fighting off that Shadow…" Yukari said, ashamedly.

"It wasn't your fault," I said, startling her. "I was scared, too. Anyone would be scared. Why should I blame you for acting how someone would normally act in that situation?" She blushed, before turning her head away from me in embarrassment.

"T-thanks…" She sighed. "And here I am, telling you this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting, I thought to myself, 'I've been hiding so many things from him…as soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth.'" She smiled at me again, as my cheeks turned red, the rays of the afternoon sun radiating her beauty.

"So, thanks for listening. I've been waiting to say that to someone for a long time," she said with a sweet, relaxing voice.

"Anytime," I replied.

"…Alright, I'd better get going. I'll let the others know you woke up. Take it easy, okay? Be a good patient! And don't hesitate to call the nurse when she needs something. I'm sure she'll take good care of you." For a teenage girl, Yukari's surprisingly motherly.

She left the room, and, for a brief moment, I could see a light blush fill her cheeks as she turned to me. "…Bye." She then sprinted out the room. Weird.

I looked out the window, and, bored out of my mind, I decided to watch the sunset, as day gave way to night in the city.


	11. Infinite Paths

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: INFINITE PATHS**

"Yo, dude! Long time, no see!" Junpei greeted me at the gates, upon my grand return to Gekkoukan.

"You seem to be full of energy," I said.

"Of course!" he replied, pushing his chest out proudly. "Listen to this… Oh, wait! I'm not supposed to tell anyone! Sorry!"

…That was confusing. I gave him a puzzled look as Yukari came over, looking rather agitated. "Ugh…don't listen to him. He's just fooling around," she said.

Junpei feigned pain, clutching his left breast dramatically with a shocked expression on his face. "That hurt, Yuka-tan!" he cried.

Yukari merely groaned again as a response.

"Anyway," she turned to me. "How are you feeling? You doing okay?" I nodded, as Junpei eavesdropped in our conversation, his left ear twitching all the while as he had his back turned on us.

"That's good. Sorry to add this to your list of worries, but Ikutsuki wants to talk to you tonight," she said. "Come to the fourth floor of the dorm when you come back, okay?"

I sighed, then replied, "Yes, I'll come over…" in a tired voice.

"Don't forget!" Yukari walked into the school as Junpei nudged me, giving me a wink of approval and the smile of a pervert. I rolled my eyes, but chuckled heartily at the same time, as me and Junpei made our way into Gekkoukan, chatting to each other.

Class was boring. All my teachers were obnoxious, neurotic, self-absorbed people who barely seemed to care for the students. We had a few tests here and there, and I answered all of them, admittedly, without thinking about the answers too much, and thinking more about just what the hell happened to me in the past few days.

I returned to my home city to find it plagued by monstrous beings called Shadows every time the clock strikes midnight, and was almost killed by one of them. I met some hunchback stuck in an elevator in my dreams, I had my ribs cracked open, twice, might I add, before being healed by a mechanical bull-woman that came out of the head of some girl I just met, I saw a lyre-swinging version of me crush a Shadow before having some helmeted behemoth burst out from him and unleash hell before disappearing back into my brain, and, to top it all off, I got insomnia again.

Goddammit, my life sucks. This whole thing is just completely insane.

Might as well embrace the insanity, though. I mean, there's no turning back now. After everything I've gone through, I doubt I can just turn my back, cover my ears, and hope for the best. Besides, this is what I wanted, right? I mean, I got some answers as to what killed my parents. I might get some more answers along the way. Like the answer to the question, "Just what the hell is Funeral Time?"

As I made my way back to the dorm, I terrorized Iwatodai for a bit. I went through several buildings, bought some food, entered a library, and, jogged all across the station. Why?

Because I realized just how happy I was just to be alive.

The Shadow's attack on the dorm was a close call. I could've died. I was utterly scared at that moment. That was the first time in my life I've ever been that frightened. Well, aside from the time my family died…

I sighed. I wondered what was wrong with me. Why was I so keen on fighting the Shadow, but, so afraid when faced with the fact that I could've died? I mean, I was fighting a multi-armed, blade-wielding, masked beast that could split itself into pieces at will. There was always the possibility that I could die.

But, as I was fighting it, I didn't even care about death. I just fought it because…

…Because I wanted to protect someone. I wanted to protect Yukari. Hell, I wanted to protect everyone. I just didn't like seeing people die. Not just in Funeral Time, no, in general. I hated funerals. I hated corpses. I hated mangled, dead bodies. I didn't like the idea of death.

The notion that you would no longer live on this earth; that everything you've ever been, or could've been, would be thrown right out the window and turned into nothing, was something that I never could get used to. No one should get used to something like that.

I returned to the dorm. It was 5:00 PM. Seven hours before Funeral Time. No one was in the lounge. Oh, right, Yukari said they'd be on the fourth floor.

I entered the room, and found four figures sitting down, three on a big, red couch, and one on a petit armchair. The three on the couch were Yukari, Mitsuru, and silver-hair, and the one on the armchair was Ikutsuki. Across from Ikutsuki was another armchair.

Both chairs were separated by a wide coffee table. To my left was a gigantic computer monitor, with all kinds of buttons, levers, and switches on its dashboard. I got the feeling I shouldn't touch it, seeing how complex the controls seemed to be…

"Ah, there you are," Ikutsuki said. "Please, have a seat. I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I called you here was because I needed to talk to you." I sat on the armchair across from Ikutsuki, the trio on the couch eyeing me anxiously the whole time.

"Oh, before that, this is Akihiko Sanada. He's another resident of the dorm. He's a senior, like Mitsuru," he gestured to silver-hair, who, I've just noticed, had a band-aid taped to his temple.

"How're you doing?" he greeted me, formally.

"Now, then, down to business." Ikutsuki restarted our conversation. "Let me start off by asking you this…" Okay. Hit me. "Would you believe me if I told you that a day consists of more than twenty-four hours?"

"Yes." I said it confidently, without any hesitation. Ikutsuki was surprised, Mitsuru stroked her chin, Akihiko raised an eyebrow, and Yukari's eyes widened. Hey, if you guys had been through the things I've been through, you'd believe anything.

Mitsuru chuckled, "I'm not surprised to hear your reaction. However, you _have_ experienced this truth firsthand." She drew closer to me. "Do you remember the night you came here?"

"Yes, I do," I said. "The streetlights were out. Nothing electronic was working. All sources of liquid turned into blood. People turned into coffins, and the sky turned green. I've been aware of all this since I was seven."

Yukari's jaw hit the floor. She was genuinely shocked. "You mean…"

"How do you think my family died? It was during that damned time period." My face was devoid of emotion the whole time.

"We were driving home from Destiny Land on the Moonlight Bridge. Then, the clock struck midnight, and everything went to hell. The car stopped working, and, all of a sudden, a gaseous, blade-wielding beast smashed into us. I was the only one left alive from all that." Everyone looked at me with sorrowful eyes. Yukari, especially, was affected by my words the most. She was almost on the verge of tears.

"For years, this time period has plagued me. So, anyone got any idea on what the hell it is?" My voice was raised to the point where it sounded like I was ready to burst.

"We call it the Dark Hour," Ikutsuki piped up. "It occurs every night, at midnight. You already know about how people transmogrify into coffins during it, but I take it you know little about the Shadows."

"The Shadows appear during the Dark Hour, and feed on anything not in a coffin," Akihiko finally spoke up. "People stuck in their coffins don't realize it, since they're asleep the whole time."

"Long story short," said Mitsuru, "We are the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. S.E.E.S., for short. On paper, we're a school club. In reality, we are a group dedicated to halting any sort of Shadow activity. I am the leader, and Ikutsuki-san here is the club advisor."

"A Shadow feeds not on the bodies of its victims, but their minds. They're the ones responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not, all of them," Ikutsuki said, with a calm, cool voice.

"The Shadows are responsible for Apathy Syndrome?" I asked. Ikutsuki and Mitsuru nodded grimly, both with expressions of regret on their faces.

Apathy Syndrome was a serious mental illness that rendered the afflicted person unable to do anything for themselves. They would lose their skin tone and speak incoherent babblings. They would stare off into the distance with glazed, bored, indifferent eyes. They'd find it difficult to eat, sleep, drink, bathe, or even walk upright.

And the Shadows made them that way. I rubbed my temples, trying to digest all this.

"How do you fight them?" I asked.

"Although rare," Ikutsuki said, "there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. However, those who can do so must awaken a power deep within themselves, called, 'Persona.' That's what you used to slay that humongous Shadow just a week ago. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. It's all up to you guys."

I sighed, "Alright. What now?"

Mitsuru pulled out a briefcase and opened it to reveal a gleaming silver gun, with the S.E.E.S. label engraved onto its barrel. In the case was also an armband, which had the S.E.E.S. label printed on its side.

"We want you to join us," Mitsuru said, with a regal voice. "This is an Evoker. It allows you to summon a Persona without putting yourself under extreme mental stress."

Isn't pointing a gun to your head a sign of mental stress in the first place?

"Please, lend us your strength." Everyone fell silent, awaiting my response to all this. I began caressing my chin.

I thought for a while. I really did. On one hand, now I know just what murdered my family, and I have the chance to protect other families from the same threat, but…I don't know if I can put my life on the line like this. For all my talk about how I couldn't turn back from this, I was beginning to really consider the consequences of joining this little Shadow-hunting group.

"Um…" Yukari found the courage to say something.

"If you don't want to join, it's alright…it _is_ completely up to you…" Her voice cracked halfway through.

This was a tough decision to make.

And then, I remembered Hamuko's smile. I remembered my parents' smiles. And how I would never be able to see them again. I remembered Yukari's pale face at the sight of the multi-armed Shadow, and I remembered how helpless everyone else was…except for me.

I remembered how powerful Orpheus and Thanatos were in comparison to everyone else's Personas. Orpheus could smash a Shadow into nothing with a few swings of his lyre, and Thanatos was nothing but a mindless brute, but a strong and gallant one. If it weren't for them, we'd all probably be dead by now.

To drive the point home, I asked myself this: If I quit now, and left them to fend off the Shadows alone, what if something like last week happened again?

…

"I'll take the job."

Ikutsuki, Mitsuru, and Akihiko smiled approvingly, the latter putting his right arm over my shoulder and fist-bumping me.

Yukari sat up, sighing in relief. "I was afraid you'd say no…" she said. "Well, welcome aboard!"

"Thank you so much. I'm really glad," Ikutsuki piped up with a kindly voice. "Since you're basically part of the club, I'll just have you stay here, in your current room." He chuckled. "I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it all worked out in the end."

"But, wasn't that-oh, never mind…" Yukari trailed off.

And then I heard a smashing sound in my brain.

Orpheus' voice rang in my mind as the following words were said:

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Fool Arcana…"**_

…Fool Arcana?

I have a bad feeling about this…but, no use whining about it now. This is what I've come to, and this is what I have to face.

Mom, Dad, Hamuko…I'll avenge you guys.


	12. A Midnight Chat

**CHAPTER TWELVE: A MIDNIGHT CHAT**

"Good evening."

Oh my God, it's that kid again. And it's the Dark Hour.

You'd think, after I had inducted myself into a group of Shadow-hunters, I'd begin to overcome my fear of death, but, no. I was still as thanatophobic as ever, even though I literally had the God of Death, Thanatos, at my disposal. I hate irony.

The kid just stood there, in silence, staring at me. I blinked timidly, awaiting his next move.

I was frozen. I didn't know what to do, or what he was planning. Was he going to kill me? Was he going to eviscerate me? Was he going to rip me apart, limb by limb? His corpse-like eyes shone horridly in the green light of the Dark Hour as he began to…smile?

"How are you?" the boy asked, in an actually concerned tone of voice. He tilted his head, his eyes graduating from their rather bloodcurdling stare into a much friendlier one.

"How…did you get in here?" I know, it sounded stupid of me to try to start a conversation with a little boy who looked and acted like a ghost, but I was curious. Just what was this kid's agenda?

"I'm always with you." The boy's smile grew wider.

…I immediately regretted asking him. That is the creepiest response to a question in the history of ever.

"Soon, the end will come," the kid began, his eyes unmoving. "I remembered, so I thought I should tell you."

"The end…? Of what?" I asked. I was getting freaked out again.

"The end of everything." The kid's welcoming, friendly expression then turned into one of regret. "But to be honest," he continued, "I don't really know what it is." Well, that's informative.

"But, let's go on to other topics," he said, smiling again. "It seems you've awakened to your power, and what an unusual power it is. It takes many forms, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."

I was confused, then scared. Why? Because he teleported to the foot of my bed. Yes, I wish I had made that last statement up.

"I expect you to honor our commitment," he said, drawing closer to me. "I'll be watching over you, even as you forget about me." I was quaking quite a bit in fear. I gulped nervously as the boy leapt off my bed. "Okay, then, see you later."

…That's it? That's all this kid wanted to tell me? I was relieved that he didn't try to tear my face to shreds, but…wait a minute…

He might know something about the Dark Hour.

He left the room. Crap! "Wait! Kid!" I ran out the door, and, to my dismay, the kid was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

I sighed. I then slapped myself on the head for my idiocy as I turned back to my room, ready to fall back into my deep slumber.

But I couldn't.


	13. School by Day, Hell by Night

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SCHOOL BY DAY, HELL BY NIGHT**

I remained awake for the rest of the night, understandably freaked out. I went to school with eye bags so low and dark that it's a wonder none of the teachers made me go to the nurse's office. Well, Yukari _did_ show a little concern, but that went out the window when Junpei started making jokes about how Yukari and I matched each other so well.

Last I saw, she was _still_ chasing him.

Despite my unforgiving exhaustion, I managed to pay attention to many of the lessons, even if most of them were more boring and cheaply delivered. Those which weren't boring and cheaply delivered were just nonsensical.

Didn't help that my teachers were either insane or mentally ill.

Mr. Ono, my Japanese History teacher, only seemed interested in the Sengoku Era, the age of the samurai. As such, he blabbed on and on about the Sengoku Era, even though we were supposed to learn about Japan's early history. Basically, he skimmed over all the Japanese legends, including the legends of Amaterasu, Izanagi and Izanami, and even the Emperor Jimmu Tenno, all for the sake of getting to the Sengoku Era faster.

Mr. Ekoda, my Classic Literature teacher, periodically insulted the students without any form of hesitation or decency, and mocked them for thinking any less of classic literary works like…wait, he didn't even give any examples on any good classic literature. He's a Classic Literature teacher who doesn't even teach classic literature. That is _sad_.

Ms. Edogawa taught magic. That's all you need to know.

Ms. Miyahara was a pretty bad teacher at Mathematics, always mixing up the answers to equations, confusing the class and irritating me.

The other teachers were actually so bad I tried to block them from my mind. And I did. The feeling was sweet.

Pretty much, the only good teachers were Ms. Terauchi and Ms. Toriumi. They both gave interesting lectures on their respective subjects, which I admittedly don't remember, sorry, and were actually competent enough for me to actually stay awake during their classes without having to force myself to.

Then the bell rang.

Class was over. Yukari ran out the door to attend to some archery club activities, Junpei left for…somewhere, and I decided to return to the dorm and finally get some sleep. Upon entering, Akihiko greeted me, and, to my surprise, Ikutsuki was there, too.

"Where have you been?" Akihiko said, with a brotherly tone of voice.

I replied, "Through hell." He laughed it off. Or, rather, chuckled it off. He was like me, he never really liked laughing out loud, preferring to take a much more subtle approach.

It was stylish when I did it, but kind of out of place when he did it.

I sprinted up to my room, throwing all my stuff down on the couch, promising to retrieve it tomorrow morning. And, after taking off my shirt, because, for some reason, the room was REALLY hot, I resigned myself to a good night's sleep…

Which lasted for an hour.

"Makoto-kun!"

_That_ sent me flying out of my bed. As I pulled myself up from the ground, sweaty, exhausted, and with an insanely foul mood, I regained my composure upon realizing that Yukari was the one who called me. And she was right out the door. And now, she's in my room.

"Uh, what are you doing…?" Her eyes widened, upon entering. Probably because I was shirtless the whole time.

"I _was_ trying to sleep…" I said, my hair mangled and in disarray.

"Oh, sorry to wake you…" Yukari looked away as I buttoned my shirt back on. "Um, Akihiko-senpai asked me to tell you to come down."

I arched my eyebrow.

"Why?" I was getting a little pissed off at how I wasn't getting my beauty rest.

"I don't know," Yukari answered, "he just said he had something to show all of us." I sighed in exasperation as I put on my jacket, ready to get whatever this is over with.

I followed Yukari down to the lounge, where, to no one's surprise, Mitsuru was reading a book written about what seemed to be algorithms and theorems as Ikutsuki was tuning in to a children's program called _Watashi wa Akira_.

It was funny seeing how the grown man was watching a kids' show and how the young teenage girl was reading sophisticated, probably-college level material. But, then again, Mitsuru was no ordinary teenage girl. Calling her a genius would probably be considered the biggest understatement of the decade.

I heard from Junpei that her scores would give teachers, in his words, "aneurysms out of pure awe." I never thought I'd hear Junpei ever say "aneurysm" or "awe," but, to my surprise, he did. I hope he was exaggerating.

Speaking of Junpei, he just walked in through the entrance door, with several briefcases. Wait, what?

"Wazzup, guys?" he chuckled.

Yukari was bewildered. Mitsuru's brow was arched. Ikutsuki showed surprise, and glee, to some extent, and Akihiko was deadpanned. I was just tired, and, as such, was not really in the mood to question any of this. But Yukari was.

"Junpei?!" she cried. "W-why is he here?! Don't tell me…" Ikutsuki tried his damndest to hold in his laughter. Schadenfreude for the win. I admit, seeing Yukari act like this was pretty entertaining. I haven't seen her so distressed, not since the night the Shadow attacked, at least.

"This is Junpei Iori, from class 2-F," Akihiko said, interrupting her outburst. "He'll be staying here as of today."

Junpei tipped his cap off to us, mostly towards Yukari, just to see how she'd react. Akihiko continued, "I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently."

Wait, 'potential?' As in…he can summon a Persona? Okay, now, I was getting interested.

"He found me crying like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins…" Junpei began. "I don't remember much, but…man, that's embarrassing! He said that's, you know, completely normal…in the beginning. You know, being confused, and not remembering anything…did you guys know that?"

"Didn't happen to me," I said, trying to defuse Junpei's hyperactivity.

As a response, he snorted, "Big deal. It happens to everyone else." I looked at Yukari, who I found was still dumbfounded by Junpei's sudden arrival. Come on, Yukari, it's not like it's the end of the world.

"…But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys." Junpei's momentum just isn't stopping. "I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kind of lonely, you know. I bet you're stoked, too, right? Having me join?"

"Welcome to the club." I decided to welcome him with open arms. Hey, we need all the help we can get, and the best way for a group to be at its best is to have the members establish a sense of trust among themselves. Plus, Junpei really is a nice guy, once you get to know him, so, I'm genuinely excited to have him on my team.

"Um…yeah…" Yukari's voice was laced in and out with hesitance. I rolled my eyes.

Ikutsuki clapped his hands.

"Okay," he began, "everybody's here. I'd like your undivided attention." We all sat down as he continued, Junpei sitting on the armchair across from Ikutsuki, propping his legs up on the coffee table lazily.

Ikutsuki continued, showing no signs of irritation at Junpei's lack of decency. "For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But now, that number has recently jumped to five. Therefore, starting tonight, at midnight, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

We're…going to explore the Greek version of Hell?

"Tartarus…? What's that? Sounds like toothpaste." Junpei, you almost made me facepalm. You made Akihiko, though. Good job trying not to embarrass yourself.

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Yukari asked. The boy in question tilted his head.

"No surprise, since it only appears during the Dark Hour…" Akihiko trailed off. "Just like the Shadows, interesting, huh? You can think of it as kind of a Shadow nest. It's the perfect training ground."

Junpei grinned at the thought.

"Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" Whoa, Mitsuru, calm down.

"Now, now, he does his work well." Ikutsuki placed a soft hand on Mitsuru's shoulder, calming her down.

"How long will it take to get from here to…Tartarus?" I asked.

"About an hour," replied Ikutsuki.

"Then, wake me up at eleven," I said, nonchalantly.

I made my way to the door as Junpei cried, "WHAT?! You're going to sleep?! After all this?"

I turned to him with a deadpanned face, "If I'm going to fight Shadows, might as well rest up. Give me a break. I couldn't sleep the entire night last night."

Yukari's face showed concern. "Why?" she asked.

"I…had a nightmare." Wasn't the toughest excuse, but, hey, good enough, right?

"What? Dude, you sure you can fight the Shadows when you get shook up from a bad dream?" Wow, that was uncalled for.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Whoa, Yukari. "He's been aware of the Dark Hour since he was seven! You think it's easy for someone to go through all that?!"

Ikutsuki, Akihiko, and Mitsuru all looked at each other nervously. Junpei was flabbergasted.

"S-seven…? H-how?" he said, as his eyebrows rose to an uncomfortable degree.

No one told him? "You mean no one told you?"

Junpei shook his head. I turned mine to Mitsuru and Akihiko, and they, too, shook their heads. Even Ikutsuki hadn't told him of my past. Weird.

Junpei stepped back. "Whoa. What exactly happened?" He gave me an apologetic look as Yukari gave an agitated one. Luckily, it was directed at him.

"Car accident," I responded. "My family died ten years ago as the Dark Hour struck the city. They all died when the car stopped working. A Shadow killed them. Happy?" My face didn't even look fazed at what I had just said.

Junpei bowed remorsefully. "I-I'm sorry, man…I didn't know." I patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Not your fault. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to sleep for about five hours. Remember, wake me up at eleven."

He nodded slowly as I returned to my room and slept.

It was a good five-hour nap. When I awoke, I felt revitalized. Luckily, I awoke at just the right time: 10:59.

"Makoto-kun! It's time. Are you awake?" Yukari asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm back in action. Don't worry, I'll be there in a minute," I said as I began preparing my things for a descent into Hell, putting on my jacket and placing several junk foods in a big, black bag.

"Hey, um…" Yukari began. "Sorry about Junpei. He's kind of a handful when it comes to stuff like this. He's just excited."

I smiled. "Seriously, it's alright. I completely understand," I said. "Anyway, I should be thanking you for defending me earlier. It was awfully nice of you."

"U-um…you're welcome…" Yukari said, with a hesitating, somewhat anxious voice. "Uh, a-are you done preparing yet?" she asked. Turns out I was.

"Yep. Ready," I said as I opened the door.

All of us then left for Tartarus, and Junpei reverted back to his hyperactive nature, repeating over and over how awesome it was to wield a power seemingly few people have. It was nice to see him out of that pitying look he had on earlier. It seemed quite out of character for him.

Ikutsuki wasn't with us. Apparently, according to Mitsuru, he can't summon a Persona, but he managed to train himself to function during the Dark Hour. He also used to work for the Kirijo Group. I don't quite know how one hones his senses to function during the Dark Hour, but, hey, what do I know, I'm just an ordinary teenager. A teenager who can summon the God of Death and the Master of Strings from shooting himself in the head. That's ordinary, right?

We stopped in front of the school gates at Gekkoukan at 11:59. Wait, what? Why did we stop at Gekkoukan? What, are you telling me that our school…is Tartarus? Wow. Gekkoukan High is Greek Hell. With the faculty here, I'm not all that surprised.

"T-this is it?" Junpei said, shock written all over his face. "_This_ is the place? Why _here_?!" I know how you feel, man.

"Just wait a few minutes…" Akihiko said, shutting him up. "It's almost midnight."

And, with a few ticks of Akihiko's wristwatch, the Dark Hour struck. And then, what happened next was simultaneously horrifying, ridiculous, and glorious. And that's without hyperbole!

Our school transformed into a mighty, titanic tower, with pillars, spikes, and several vine-like structures jutting out from the windows, popping out from the walls, and sprouting out from the ground. Concrete and cement turned into glass and ceramic as the trees lining the entrance transformed into massive, sharp spikes; all this merged with the transforming school building.

The school grew so tall in height that it almost looked like it was touching the clouds. You'd think, with all the grotesqueness going on with this school's transformation, that Gekkoukan would look like rather gross, outwardly. Actually, when it was finally done transforming itself, it looked somewhat pretty.

The ceramic mixed with what remaining concrete the building had and gave it an almost polished look to it. The glass formed massive windows which looked beautiful in design. Structures formed macabre yet attractive stairways, platforms, and railings all over the building, from bottom to top.

It was repulsive, yet I could barely look away.

"This is Tartarus," Mitsuru said, "the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."

Ah, so _this_ is Tartarus.

…

…WHAT?!

Either this is just another weird dream or I'm just losing my mind. I hope it's neither one of those two. For one thing, if this was some weird dream, then it says some interesting things about my mental state, and if I'm losing my mind…

Then again, the latter is more likely, seeing as how I've been seeing some really, _really_ freaky things for days. Could all this have been some alternate reality I, in my insanity, had created in the recesses of my mind? Eh. Probably not.

Hopefully not.

"What happened to our school…?!" Junpei, I feel your confusion, and I completely understand where you're coming from. First time something like this has ever happened between us, and it'll probably be the last time, too.

"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." Mitsuru, you say it like you've been here before. She probably has.

"T-this is the 'nest' you were talking about?" Junpei asked, as he turned to Akihiko. "But, why? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower?!" Mitsuru was silent. She knows something.

"You don't know, either?" Junpei asked.

"…No." Mitsuru replied.

Yep, she knows something. She's being defensive about it, though. I'd better ask her more about this some other time. And by "other time," I mean the next time we ask questions about Tartarus and the Dark Hour. I just _have_ to check this out.

Plus, I don't think it'd be a good idea to get on Mitsuru's bad side. She looks like the type of woman to take charge of situations, especially when backed in a corner.

"Anyway, I'm sure it's complicated." Yukari, in this situation, "complicated" is an understatement. "Who cares, anyway?" she continued. "It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."

"Well, maybe now, we'll find out," Akihiko said, his voice raspier, yet more upbeat than usual. "Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek. This'll be our first time exploring it. Exciting, huh? Maybe we'll get some clue in here about the Dark Hour…"

"Akihiko." Yikes, Mitsuru. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today."

Akihiko backed off. "I know…you don't have to remind me…" These two are like a married couple. It's hilarious. We entered Tartarus with our heads held high, and our confidence-actually, we walked in pretty leisurely, except for Junpei, who charged in like a maniac.

This is going to be one long Dark Hour…


	14. The First Block

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE FIRST BLOCK**

Tartarus' lobby was really roomy. There were about seven pillars surrounding us, and directly in front of us was a giant staircase with a massive, portal-like gate at the top. Beside the staircase was a massive clock which looked eerily similar to the one in the Velvet Room, and there was even some green platform-thing which seemed to be slightly busted, according to Mitsuru.

"Whoa…it's just as cool on the inside…" Junpei started exploring the place. He was acting like a five-year-old who's having his first time in a museum.

"But, it sure is creepy…" Yukari was unsettled by the slightly macabre design of the place. I thought it was amazing.

"This is only the entrance," Mitsuru said. "The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs." She gestured her hand to the big portal-gate which I couldn't help but find a resemblance between it and a Magi-Gate from the show _Phoenix Rangers_. Ever see that show? It gave me a never-ending flow of good memories. Childish, I know, but, still.

"First, we'll have you three get a feel for this place," Akihiko proclaimed, letting down three massive bags from his shoulders. "Why don't you go have a look around?"

"Wha-?! By ourselves?!" Yukari, I know this place is creepy as hell, but, come on, woman. You got me and Junpei…on second thought; you have every right to be afraid.

"Although we weren't planning on following you, we're not asking you to go very far, and I'll be feeding you information from here," Mitsuru said, calming Yukari's nerves a little. They weren't planning on following us?

"We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions," Akihiko said.

Of course, flashes of opportunity began to shine in Junpei's eyes.

"Oh! Oh! Me, me, me! Pick me!" This was embarrassing.

Akihiko groaned. Mitsuru chuckled at the sight. Yukari wasn't having any of it. I was deadpanning the whole time. I like being the straight man. It's fun.

Akihiko pointed to me, "…Makoto, you're in charge."

WHAT.

"H-hey, why him? He doesn't look like a leader!" Junpei, this is the second time we agree with each other on something.

"Well, he _has_ fought them before…" Yukari, thanks for defending me and all, but _WHY_?

Junpei stammered. "Seriously?"

Didn't any of you guys tell him anything about my time here in S.E.E.S.? Ugh, whatever. You'd think, telling members in a group of each others' backgrounds to establish more of a sense of trust between each other would be a good strategy, but _no_, we have to be all secretive and crap…

Akihiko interrupted my inner ranting and stated another reason why I'm set to be the leader: Apparently, the other two just aren't fully prepared to summon their Personas yet. Seriously.

"Can you two summon your Personas without any difficulty, like he can?" he asked them, while pointing to me.

Junpei and Yukari were hesitant to answer.

"Y-yeah…o'course I can!" Junpei said.

"I think so…" Yukari said. Wait, you just summoned your Persona with little to no difficulty a few days ago! You know, to defend me in the fight against that multi-armed Shadow? Then again, though…I guess it is a pretty gruelling thing to get used to, I mean, to summon your Persona in the first place, you need to point a gun to your head and let it go bang. I shouldn't be so hard on her.

"This is Shadows were talking about here. Without your Persona, you're screwed." Akihiko said all that with an almost blazing look to his eyes, pointing his Evoker to his head, yet not pulling the trigger. He frightened Junpei and Yukari. Not me, so much.

Yukari gulped, "I'm aware of that…"

Akihiko opened the three gigantic bags he had with him, and, to only Junpei's surprise, it turned out they were carrying weapons. Yukari had a bow and quiver of arrows, Junpei had an imitation katana, which he held like a baseball bat, and I…my God.

"My short sword?" I asked, in shock. "You guys repaired my short sword?" Mitsuru nodded, and Ikutsuki smiled approvingly. Junpei was chortling to Yukari about how excited I was acting, only to have Yukari punch him on the shoulder. I should thank her, for saving me the trouble.

I, Junpei, and Yukari all headed off to the stairs, ready to confront some-hey, look, a blue door.

Which looks, suspiciously, like the door which leads to the Velvet Room. This may be fun. The blue key Igor had given me earlier suddenly reappeared in my hand, and was vibrating, with a bright blue glow emanating from it.

"What's wrong?" Yukari asked. I told her to wait a minute.

The key flew from my hands, into the keyhole of the golden doorknob of the blue door. With a bright light enveloping me, I wound up back into the Velvet Room.

Elizabeth waved her hand in a friendly manner, smiling at me somewhat malevolently. Igor still looked deranged. Orpheus was beside me again, and he, like Elizabeth, waved at me, with an emotionless face. His eyes were still red. I'll never get used to that.

"I've been waiting for you. The time has come for you to wield to your power!" Igor began, raising a finger. "The tower you are about to venture into…how did it come to be? For what purpose does it exist?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me," I said, interrupting his grandiose speech.

"Alas, I cannot help you in that regard, Master Yuki," Igor said. "I am here mainly to guide you in achieving and understanding the full nature of your power. As such, other matters, such as this tower's origins, are unknown to me, or, rather, they have been blotted out of my mind. Everything that has nothing to do with completing my role is nothing but alien to me." I was quite disappointed.

"Fine," I said, wearing a nonchalant face. "At least tell me what the full nature of my power is." Hey, if Tartarus is alien to these guys, then I should at least learn how to get more powerful.

"Your power is unique…it's like the number zero: empty, but full of infinite possibilities." Igor looked excited while giving this speech.

It seems the reason the Arcana bestowed upon me first was the Fool, was because the Fool represented a new beginning. Yes, I read Tarot. What, a kid in the year 2009 can't read about Tarot?

"You have the ability to possess multiple Personas, and summon them as needed," Igor said. I can hold multiple Personas? "Think of yourself as…a wild card."

A…wild card?

"There may be times when they are difficult to grasp…" Igor continued. "But do not fear. Seize what you've earned. Your power will grow accordingly…be sure to keep that in mind." I nodded.

Igor ended the conversation with this, "My spare time here will soon be scarce. But, please, come again, of your own accord. I'll tell you then of my true role; the manner in which I can best assist you…"

"Why don't you tell me now?" I asked.

"Until then…farewell…" Igor said, ignoring me completely.

Wow, for a guy who lives between the planes of reality and fantasy, he has an extremely low attention span. Anyway, I found myself back in Tartarus' lobby, and saw Junpei and Yukari looking at me with puzzled eyes. Mitsuru and Akihiko were conversing near the stairway.

"Hey, are you alright?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah, what's up? You look like a zombie…" Junpei said.

"It's nothing. Let's carry on." I grabbed my blade as Junpei grumbled something under his breath about my lack of focus.

I ignored him, but, much to my lack of surprise, Yukari didn't; she kicked him in the shin, forcing him to limp his way up the stairway. Hey, is it just me, or is Yukari a wee bit overprotective of me?

I mean, sure, I guess she believes she owes me one over the fight with that multi-armed Shadow we had a week back, but, I told her that it wasn't her fault. I think she got the message. And what's Junpei's deal, anyway?

He acts all high and mighty, what, with him swinging his katana around like some pro baseball player, but I can see all the insecurities he's trying to hide inside. He pretends to be tough when confronted with frightening situations, taking into account the moment just a few minutes earlier, when Akihiko demonstrated the use of an Evoker to him.

He acted like he was confident, but I could see the nervous tics spread all over his face. Just what made him that way? Something at home?

Wait, can't think about that right now. I climbed the stairway and entered Tartarus' second floor. We were in the first block of Tartarus.

"So, this is the place, huh?" Junpei gripped his katana nervously, yet firmly.

"I hope I don't get lost…" Yukari drifted a little bit closer to me.

"Everyone stick together for now…don't run off recklessly." I gave my first orders as S.E.E.S. field leader with a dominating voice.

"Can you all hear me?" I heard Mitsuru's voice on my transceiver.

"Whoa…is that you, Senpai?" Junpei was awestruck.

Dude. Seriously? He gets amazed at everything. He really is like a kid…

"I'll be providing audio backup from here on out," Mitsuru said.

"You mean you can see inside here?" Junpei asked.

"It's all the doing of my Persona, Penthesilea." Mitsuru continued, "I'd like to join you, but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. Outside support is imperative." And you didn't tell us any of this as we were walking straight to Tartarus just an hour ago because…?

"Well, _that_ makes me feel a whole lot better…" Yukari said, acting rather ill-behaved towards Mitsuru. Luckily, the latter didn't really notice.

"Now," the redhead continued, "based on your current location, you can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They shouldn't be too tough, but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect." Well said, Mitsuru.

The three of us walked cautiously through the hallways of Tartarus' first block. The walls were shaded green, similarly to the shade of green the sky would take on during the Dark Hour. Puddles of blood were seen in nearly every corner. I was quite used to the smell, but I could see Junpei trying to force the iron out of his nose, while Yukari just covered hers.

The floor was patterned like a checkerboard, and, despite there being a suitable amount of light sources all over, it was still rather dark. The ominous atmosphere was actually starting to freak me out, but I, as the field leader of S.E.E.S., must show no fear.

"I detect a Shadow directly in front of you." Mitsuru said, in the transceiver. "Move in and hit it before it attacks."

Junpei readied his katana. Yukari pulled an arrow from her quiver. Both were awaiting my orders. Well, Yukari was, anyway. Junpei just ran straight in.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried.

Junpei swung his blade at the Shadow, which resembled a blob and wore a blue mask, which looked similar to the very same mask the multi-armed Shadow had worn. Unfortunately, much to the embarrassment of everyone present, the Shadow would dodge every single attempt at a slash. Yukari facepalmed.

"Mitsuru-senpai," I asked, as Junpei continued to swing his blade violently at the blob. "What type of Shadow wears that kind of mask, and, if it has a weakness, what is it?"

"It's Arcana is the Magician," she replied, "and its weakness is fire, according to Penthesilea's analysis on it."

Arcana? Wait, so, the Shadows are classified by…Tarot, too?

Yukari joined the fray, hoping to steer Junpei away from doing something even more reckless than what he had already done. She shot arrows at the Shadow, but it somehow managed to dodge them. For a blob-creature, this thing was actually pretty quick.

"Okay, if this sucker's weak against fire, then I'll give it all the flames I've got!" Junpei said, pointing his Evoker to his head. "Hermes!" he shouted.

Out from Junpei's skull emerged a winged, armored beast with a somewhat awkward-looking helmet. Its wings, legs, knee joints, elbow joints, and helmet were coated in gold, and the rest of its armor was in blue, with the exception of its breastplate, which was colored orange. Yukari and I were taken aback at the sudden burst of energy surging in and out from Junpei.

"Burn 'im!" Junpei ordered, and Hermes flung a massive fireball at the Shadow, scorching it, but not destroying it. Hermes, following another one of Junpei's orders, cleaved through the Shadow with its bladed wings, destroying it for good as it wailed helplessly.

I have to admit, despite Junpei's shortcomings, he's a very capable, very brash, very destructive fighter. All in all, he's a useful addition to the team. His defense is rather sloppy, though. I should talk to him about that.

Junpei chuckled to himself, "Whoa…I knew Hermes could burn things, but I didn't know my firepower was that awesome!"

I paused, then asked, "Wait, was that your first time trying out a fire spell?" He nodded proudly.

"Anyway, what did you think you were doing?" Yukari said, agitatedly. "Makoto-kun said to stick together."

"Hey, the Shadow was right in front of us! We all could've taken it out in rapid succession!" Junpei defended himself pretty self-righteously. Luckily, Mitsuru was there to put him in his place.

"Iori. Orders are orders," she lectured. "Disregarding whether or not the Shadow was easy to handle, whatever Yuki advises the group to do must be followed. Besides, what if the Shadow was not adverse to fire? You could have been hurt-behind you!"

Junpei yelped in surprise as another Shadow lunged at us. This one was blobbed in appearance as well, but its mask was purple, and it reminded me of a mask I saw at a masquerade I had been to at one point in my childhood.

Luckily, Junpei managed to dodge the Shadow, and tried blasting it with another one of Hermes' fireballs.

"Hyah!" he yelled out, as Hermes engulfed the Shadow in flame. Surprisingly, unlike the Magician, the purple-masked Shadow was barely even burnt. Junpei's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"It's Arcana is the Priestess," Mitsuru said. "It's resistant to flame attacks, but highly vulnerable to wind attacks."

I nodded. "Yukari! Hit it with a wind spell!"

She pointed her Evoker to her head, and, hesitatingly, this time, pulled the trigger, as the Shadow charged at me when I began to raise my short sword. "Io!" she cried. "Garu!"

The bull-woman known as Io rose out from Yukari's skull yet again, and it blasted the Shadow away with a gust of wind. Yukari was trembling from all the destruction she had dealt. To calm her nerves, I smiled at her, and she smiled at me, in kind, before dropping to her knees in stress.

"Yuki, Iori is in pain! Go check on him," Mitsuru said, alerting me.

I rushed over to said teammate with a now-worried Yukari in tow, to find out what was going on.

"What the hell did that Shadow do to me…?" Junpei moaned, his right arm bleeding from the bicep. The wound looked ghastly, to say the least.

"Iori, it appears that you were hit by Takeba's wind attack. Normally, it shouldn't damage someone like this…your Persona must have a weakness to wind," Mitsuru deduced, and Junpei's confidence fell.

"So, my Persona can take the heat, but gets blown out by the wind…" he sighed, with disdain prevalent in his voice.

"Sorry, Junpei…I should've been more careful. I'll take care of that wound," Yukari said, summoning Io again. "Io, dia."

Upon saying those words, Junpei's scars instantly repaired themselves in a matter of seconds. Yukari's proficiency as a healer is magnificent. I doubt I could do better than her, in a situation where I might have to heal someone. I'm not that much with medical tools.

Plus, wind attacks are pretty useful, in the long run, as they could probably-no, definitely-knock an opponent back when a retreat is needed. She, if strong enough, could probably summon a light tornado to sweep us away from an enemy too massive to fight.

"Whoa…" was all Junpei could say. I chuckled at Junpei's complete lack of words at this. Dude, you just summoned an armored bird-man from your head using a fake pistol and you're surprised at a bull-woman healing you?

"Incoming horde of Shadows from all directions! Get out of there!" Mitsuru blared through the transceivers. As we three turned to try and escape this horde of death, we were pretty much crapping our pants.

What appeared to be twelve blobby Shadows managed to trap us in the hallway, with five on one pathway, and seven on the other. They growled, roared, and wailed at us horrifyingly. Junpei, sweaty and frightened, drew his Evoker and inched closer to me. Yukari readied her bow for the coming battle, even more nervous than Junpei.

I began to scan the horde, and noticed that, luckily, eight of them were Priestesses, and four were Magicians. I turned to Yukari and Junpei, who both nodded, knowing just what to-

"Gyah!" Yukari yelped as a nearby Magician hurled a massive block of ice it had created out of nothing into her head, knocking her unconscious.

"Yukari!" Junpei cried.

"Dammit!" I cursed as I ran over to her. "Junpei, take down the Magicians! I'll try to revive Yukari!"

"Take this, you sons of bitches!" He dove in, charging at the Shadows head-on. "Hermes!" he said, as the winged, armored messenger of the gods set all the Magicians of the horde ablaze, even before they were able to touch him.

My efforts to awaken Yukari were fruitless. She was still knocked cold. And she said _I'm _the guy who would sleep too much...

No! No, not the time! There was no time for snarky comments now. I had to get Yukari to safety. The only thing standing in the way of such safety, though, was two more Priestesses, growling at me, forcing me back. I carried Yukari over my shoulder, using my Evoker with my free hand to summon Orpheus.

I knew that Orpheus had no wind attacks of any kind, but anything at this point was better than doing nothing, right?

"Orpheus!" I summoned my lyre-swinging Persona, and he got to dealing with the two interfering Priestesses, smashing them all into oblivion, letting me hear their desperate cries for help mere seconds before they perished.

…I'm more of a sadist than I thought.

"Get out of there! Get to the entranceway!" Mitsuru's voice was warning enough.

I got to moving, but I beginning to feel worn out, for some reason. Instead of running through the blood-soaked hallway, I was almost limping. My sword-arm felt absolutely drained. I couldn't make a good swing with it like this. I was completely and utterly exhausted.

Junpei, from the looks of it, was, too. Yukari was still unconscious from the blast of ice, and my legs were beginning to give out from the weight of her on my shoulder, and from just plain tiredness.

"I'm going in there!" Akihiko said, over the transceiver.

"Akihiko, make it quick!" Mitsuru ordered.

Although a little help would be nice, I can't just wait for him to arrive! I need a plan! I need to formulate something to help us out here! I'm the leader, aren't I?!

THINK! You need to protect them, Makoto! They're your responsibility! COME ON!

"_**Thou hast proven thyself worthy of my power…"**_

I heard a female voice ring in my mind, as those words were uttered.

"_**From this moment onward, thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I am Pixie, the Guiding yet Mischievous Fairie…"**_

I got a new Persona.

"Pixie!" I pulled the trigger after pointing my Evoker to my head, and a tiny, winged, humanoid creature emerged from my forehead. Although she was small, she packed quite a punch, delivering several wind attacks to all Priestesses present. Junpei shielded himself from the sudden gusts of wind, but I could almost feel his amazement during this Shadow slaughter fest.

All the Priestesses were slain, and they were reduced into puddles of mush and froth as Pixie retreated back into my head with a smile.

Junpei was stunned. Akihiko, who had just arrived, smiled approvingly with his fists on his hips. Huh. I guess it would've been okay if I just waited for him.

"What…was that?" a sweaty Junpei asked, wearily.

"Oh, yeah. Junpei, he can summon multiple Personas," Akihiko said, with a blank expression as he pointed at me. You didn't even tell him about my wild card ability? Just how uninformed is Junpei?

"WHAT?! How?!" The cap-wearer sprung to life.

"We don't know, but, just a week ago, he killed a massive Shadow using a Persona which wore a helmet that resembled a skull, along with black robes. By the way…" Akihiko turned to me. "Why didn't you use that one during this whole fight?"

I shrugged with an honest look of confusion on my face. I seriously didn't know what happened to Thanatos.

"And, why didn't you use that other one?" he asked again.

"I just got it," I replied.

...The awkward silence was actually pretty deafening.

"As in, I got it just now. I just felt it pop up, out of nowhere."

Akihiko sighed. I guess he didn't want to question the logistics of how my Persona-summoning worked. Understandable. Junpei seemed to tired to care anymore.

"Alright, let's go," Akihiko said. "We have to get Takeba out of here. Plus, the Dark Hour's ending, soon. We're going to have to cut our little expedition here off, for now."

I was glad. Tonight was almost as life-threatening as the fight with the multi-armed Magician, if not, even more so! And this was all on the second floor of the first block? Goddammit…

But…it was all over, now. Junpei, Akihiko, and I made our way back into the lobby through the entrance-portal, and, upon entering, Junpei immediately ran down the stairs, only to end up falling flat on his face on the cold, hard floors of Tartarus, dozing off into the world of dreams.

Realizing Pixie had healing spells, I tried healing Yukari, but the spell was too weak, as it was now. Pixie, for how proficient she was at wind attacks, was mediocre, at best, when it came to healing.

Mitsuru ended up tending to Yukari's wounds, after having Akihiko lay her on the floor. I sighed. Day one of our exploration of Tartarus…I would say…was a failure.

…But, hey, we'll get stronger. Right?

"M…Makoto-kun…?" Yukari said, finally awakening, her wounds having been healed.

"Hey, you're back," I said, plopping myself down on the stairway, sitting on the steps as Yukari returned from her slumber.

"W-what happened? Where are all the Shadows?" She asked, frantically searching the area.

"Relax, Junpei and I killed them," I said, calmly.

"H-how'd you deal with the Priestesses? And…what happened to Junpei?" she asked, realizing that said friend was lying on the ground, sleeping the night away.

"Yuki summoned another Persona, named Pixie, and managed to pulverize the Shadows attacking you three, using its wind abilities to his advantage," Mitsuru said, commending me for my heroism.

"Wow…t-thank you, Makoto-kun…" Yukari said, tiredly.

"Don't mention it," I replied. "We still have a long road ahead of us. We're all fatigued as hell, right now, so, I decree that we return to the dorm, and rest. I recommend continuing our exploration of Tartarus on Wednesday."

Yukari flinched. After today's incident, who wouldn't flinch at the idea of diving into this damned place again? But, gathering from what I've seen so far, the Shadows will get stronger. By that logic, we should, too.

"Excellent evaluation," Mitsuru said. "I agree with your decisions. Wednesday, we shall return to Tartarus."

I nodded. As all of us left the lobby, I heard another smashing sound go off in my mind, accompanying it, again, was Orpheus' voice.

"_**Thou shalt be blessed further when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Fool Arcana…"**_

Interesting.

I looked to my right and saw that the door leading to the Velvet Room was still there, and, emanating from it was a glow of…azure. I'm sick of using 'blue' whenever I'd describe the Velvet Room.

I decided to enter, hoping for Igor to finally tell me what his "true role" is.

"I have been awaiting your return, Master Yuki…as I've promised, I shall inform you of my true role," Igor said. "I have the ability to create new Personas by fusing together two or three more Personas. It is up to you, though, which ones you would like to sacrifice in fusion, or keep for future use."

…I grinned.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Yes, a commentary fourteen chapters in. Heresy.

Anyway, I made the first descent into Tartarus more hectic because I liked making situations more overblown, and I liked it whenever Makoto would use his powers to get the group out of a scrap. Don't worry, from this point on, Makoto will only save the team moderately. He'll still take part in battles, but he won't always be the hero.

At the risk of getting castrated, impaled, decapitated, dissected, crucified, hanged by my intestines, disembowelled, hamstringed, and immolated by my fellow _Persona 3_ fans, I prefer the name Makoto Yuki to Minato Arisato. It was more simplistic.

And before anyone in the reviews section harps on me about this, YES, I KNOW MAKOTO YUKI IS THE NAME OF A PORN ACTRESS, AND, QUITE FRANKLY, I DON'T CARE. Plus, it's now regarded as the MC's official name, so, whatever.

Also, I gave Pixie Garu skills. What's wrong with that? In Devil Survivor (manga version), they gave her Zio skills. _Also_, if you haven't guessed, the main pairing for this fic is MakotoxYukari. Don't give me those glares, Fuuka, Mitsuru, and Aigis fans.

Please review!


	15. Taking Up Arms

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TAKING UP ARMS**

Despite our severe exhaustion from our tiring expedition into Tartarus just the night before, everyone in S.E.E.S. arrived at Gekkoukan the next morning. Hey, just because we're defenders of the night against black, masked blobs of death didn't mean that we could afford bad grades.

Junpei was still really exhausted. He was practically dragged by Mitsuru to the gates of the school. Yukari was tired, too, but she knew better than to sleep in her room and waste the day away by sleeping. Mitsuru and Akihiko were pretty much the only ones out of the five of us who lacked eyebags, probably because they did little to nothing in our exploration.

I, on the other hand, haven't felt this exhausted in decades! My eyes feel like they could shut themselves any second now. I'm actually afraid I might end up falling asleep in class and waking up in some random floor in Tartarus.

As I made my way to the gates, a brunette with messy, unkempt hair, beady eyes, and a wide grin on his face met up with me.

"Hey, you're Makoto, right?" he asked.

"Who are you?" I asked back, bluntly.

"Man, I knew it," he said, ignoring my question. "Heard from Junpei that you're pretty close with Yukari-san…" Junpei, you ass.

"What's up with that?" he continued. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm looking for someone with more…experience, you know?" This guy's a cougar-chaser?

"By the way, I'm Kenji Tomochika." He introduced himself politely. "There's a morning assembly, so we'd better hurry."

We both ran into the school, and I was ready to see what it had to offer me this time. Hey, after Tartarus, I'm actually looking forward to hearing boring lectures and listening to bad teachers. But, of course, the only thing standing in my way of just some regular, boring school day was a speech by Mitsuru.

"That concludes the main portion of today's assembly," said a student who stood proudly on the podium. "Next, we'll hear a word from the Student Council. Please welcome the new President, Mitsuru Kirijo, from class 3-D."

"Thank you," Mitsuru replied, as the crowd cheered wildly.

"So, she _did_ get elected…" Yukari seemed irked.

"You can say that again!" Junpei piped up. "There's, like, some kind of aura around her…plus, this school's owned by the Kirijo Group, right?"

"Yeah, I try not to think about that," Yukari said, bluntly. Is she ripping me off?

Anyway, as the speech went on, I fell asleep, soundly and peacefully, only for someone to awaken me from my slumber. Although my vision was blurry, I could tell Yukari was the one who woke me.

"What do you think you're doing, sleeping in the middle of an assembly?" she asked, with an almost murderously-toned voice.

"Can you blame me? We all slept, for like, three, maybe four hours," I whispered, while seeing that Junpei, too, had fallen asleep in his own seat.

"Do you know how strict the teachers in this place can be? Ms. Toriumi makes students who fall asleep in her class buy her cake!" she whispered back.

I was stunned. I couldn't believe just how ridiculous that sentence was, but, I soon realized, that it was so stupid that it had to be true. No one would use that as a lie to scare someone, because they'd obviously disbelieve it.

"Do you know how Ekoda punishes sleepers?" she asked. I shook my head. "He…" She began to whisper to me just what type of punishments Ekoda enjoyed dealing unto sleeping students.

I made myself stay awake the entire assembly, and listened carefully to Mitsuru's speech.

I looked at Yukari, who was unusually tense. Her eyelids were drooping downward, but she was forcing them to stay up. Junpei was still fast asleep in his seat. It didn't seem that he'd awaken anytime soon.

I tried to wake him, but, Ekoda got to him first.

If any of Yukari's words are true, may God above have mercy on his soul.

Mitsuru's speech continued on.

"I am certain many of you have your own visions for the future," she said, to the whole student body. "For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you."

Upon ending her speech, there was raucous applause from all the students. I was just bored. Yukari and I made our way back to the classroom, and found a miserable, bloodshot-eyed Junpei slumping over in his chair. Ekoda must've been too severe. I sighed, regretting my inability to help my friend in his most dire situation-actually, I was pretty much chortling in the inside at how pitiful he looked.

"Ekoda chewed me out…" was all Junpei could say.

"That's what you get for sleeping during an assembly, Stupei," Yukari replied.

"Will you _please_ stop calling me that…?" Junpei whined, in an almost slurred voice, before dozing off yet again.

Yukari just rolled her eyes at our poor, poor friend. The school day went on, and, after classes, Junpei and I headed off for the dorm, just looking to get a good night's rest, as Yukari headed off for more Archery club activities.

"Look!" a giddy schoolgirl cried out, nearly rupturing my eardrums at how loud and how close she was. "It's Akihiko-senpai!"

"Wait for us!" Soon, more girls flocked over, running towards Akihiko, who just looked indifferent, if not irritated at the attention he was getting.

"Have you noticed how popular Akihiko-san is with the ladies?" Why, no, I haven't, Junpei.

"Man, take a look at that…" he said, pointing to the girls, who were swarming all over Akihiko like moths around a light bulb. "I didn't use to talk to him much, but, now, I've got a good excuse. I know he's the captain of the boxing team, but…who would've thought he'd be such a chick magnet?! I mean, come on, you don't even see girls flock like that on TV! I wonder where they're going…"

Akihiko managed to evade the girls' squirming hands and make his way to us.

"Hey, you guys free this afternoon?" he asked us.

"Hell, yeah! What do you have in mind?" Calm down, Junpei.

"I want the two of you to meet me at Paulownia Mall. You know where it is, right? I'll be at the police station." Akihiko's reply confused and disappointed Junpei.

"You mean we're not hanging out with your friends?" Uh, Junpei, would you _really_ want to hang out with these girls? Their voices are on par with the screeching of a cat stuck in a blender.

"Who, these girls?" Good to know Akihiko has good taste in women. "I don't even know their names," he said. "They talk so much they give me a headache. I'm going to head out. Don't keep me waiting."

The girls whined upon seeing their "lover boy" leave them behind for more productive things. Unfortunately, for Akihiko, they ran after him anyway. "Akihiko-kun! Hold on!" they cried.

"How can he not know their names?!" Junpei complained. "I mean, seriously, just look at them! Oh, well…let's go…"

Junpei and I tiredly arrived at Paulownia Mall, at 5:00 PM. Seven hours before the Dark Hour. I started walking around leisurely and spotted a long corridor with a familiar shade of blue emanating from its interior, way back at the other end of the mall. As I closed in to investigate, Junpei stopped me in my tracks.

"Dude, where are you going? We gotta get to the police station, remember?" he asked.

I questioned the ethics of having the only police station in the entire city built in the interior of a mall, but, whatever. I was bored, Junpei was tired, and we both, more than anything, wanted to go home. We just _had_ to get this over with.

We entered the police station to find Akihiko conversing with a gruff cop.

"Oh, these are the two guys I mentioned earlier," he said to the cop, upon seeing Junpei and I arrive. The officer merely looked at us with a stony, somewhat leering gaze. Junpei sweat-dropped.

"This is Officer Kurosawa," Akihiko began. "He's been supplying our team with the necessary equipment. You can't fight empty-handed, so find something you like. Officer Kurosawa has connections…but, he still puts a price tag on these things."

Kurosawa broke his stony gaze, his face showing mild, but noticeable irritation. "Of course I do. Nothing in life is free," he said.

Dude, we're fighting monstrous blobs of death that could break out into Iwatodai at any time and commit mass, indiscriminate slaughter onto the city's folk. I don't think the ethics of "nothing in life is free" apply, in this situation.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. This is from Ikutsuki-san," Akihiko said, handing 5,000 yen to both me and Junpei, who was ecstatic to the amount of cash he was getting.

"R-really?! Sweet!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, my work is done here," the silver-headed boxer said, "I'll be heading out. Thanks again, Kurosawa-san." Kurosawa grunted as a response.

After seeing Akihiko off, I spotted Junpei leaving the station with his newly-acquired yen. I followed him out, unhesitatingly.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, in an almost lecturing voice.

"I'm taking off! I got 5,000 yen, I'm in the middle of a mall, and I'm hungrier than a lion," he replied, childishly.

"I thought you were tired. Plus, we're using this money to buy weapons, not frolic around carelessly," I said, with a firm voice. I couldn't stand how unreasonable Junpei was being. Who was he to spend all this money for things we could pretty much get at home (specifically, food)?

"Dude, we both got 5,000 yen! Rest can wait! Let me have this! Plus, I'm sure you've got the weapons thing covered." Junpei motioned at me to leave him alone, not really paying attention to my lecturing and focusing more on the fact that he had gotten 5,000 yen. As he left me alone, standing in the middle of the mall, I sighed, aggravated at my friend's lack of decency or respect.

I returned to the station, slouching dejectedly as I made a purchase for a new blade, preferably another short sword. My own sword, while in near-perfect condition, was, like I said earlier, always meant to be a trophy, not for actual combat. I needed something sharper, more suited to clashing and slashing, and more useful in the heat of battle.

And I found it.

It had a silver blade, sharp enough to gash my finger just by touching its point. Its hilt was a dark shade of grey which almost looked obsidian in color. Both the blade and the hilt shone brightly, the lights in the station reflecting off of them and giving them an eerie yet powerful gleam.

It was called a Gladius.

And, after spending 300 yen on it, it was mine. I decided to get Yukari a short bow, which was much more durable than her practice bow, and, although I was reluctant, I bought Junpei a better katana sword, called a Kishido Blade.

After thanking Officer Kurosawa for his services, I left the station with only one question on my mind: How do I carry all this back to the dorm?

…

I didn't know. I tried searching for Junpei, but he was nowhere to be found. Just when I need that asshole…

I turned my head to see the blue corridor intensifying its glow, as if calling me over to it. I entered it, and spotted that old blue door again, the one which led me to the Velvet Room. I entered through it, and was met by Igor and Elizabeth, the latter waving at me kindly, with seductive, yellow (eergh) eyes.

"Master, it is a pleasure to see you again," Igor said.

"Likewise. So, why did you have a portal to the Velvet Room planted in a mall?" I questioned.

"For the sake of convenience, we placed a door to the Room in this mall, in the rare, yet completely valid case you needed our services while, say, shopping for supplies," Elizabeth replied. Wait, she knew I was shopping?

"You knew I was shopping?" I asked her.

"We keep a close eye on our guests." She smiled in such a way that both made me nervous and somewhat giddy.

"I have a favour to ask," I began. "Is it possible for you to help me take these weapons back to the dormitory?" Hey, I need all the help I can get, and since Junpei's nowhere to be found, I'll have to settle for the next best thing: these guys.

"Elizabeth," Igor said, in a domineering voice, while snapping his fingers.

Elizabeth created a jacket out of thin air, which was completely identical to my Gekkoukan jacket. She handed it to me and told me of its capabilities, "This is an invention of mine I like to call the 'Dimens Jacket!'"

…The what?

"The Dimens Jacket allows you to store items away for safe keeping, while allowing you to remain unnoticed due to its heavy resemblance to your school uniform!"

…Okay…

I tested the…Dimens Jacket…by shoving my hand in one of the pockets. It went in so deep that, before I realized it, my entire arm was practically sucked in the pocket. This was the coolest article of clothing that I have ever gotten in my entire life.

I wore it, shedding the one I got when I enrolled in Gekkoukan, and it felt much more comfortable and light. It was perfect for both battle and class sessions. As I removed my Gekkoukan jacket, I spotted Elizabeth with a tinge of pink smeared on her cheeks. Did she just…ogle me? Even though I had my shirt on?

…I don't know what to make of that. Nevertheless, I should thank her.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I said, shoving all the weapons I had bought into the pockets. "I'll take good care of the jacket."

"You're most welcome, Master Yuki," she said, in an almost motherly way, as I made my way to the exit.

"Wait, Master," Igor said, calling me over. "We summoned you here for a reason."

"What is it?" I asked, calmly and patiently.

"It has occurred to me that I may have not asserted the importance of Social Links to you, Master Yuki," he replied.

"Note that my ultimate role is to help you achieve your fullest potential, and, to do so, you will need to establish Social Links, and, in turn, enhance your Personas' powers. Regrettably, though, you seem to be rather apathetic towards other people, mostly concerning yourself with your own well-being, and, to a relatively small degree, that of your brothers-in-arms."

"…"

I was silent. I had noticed that I was uncaring to the people around me. Aside from S.E.E.S., I've been ignoring others, never heeding to hear what they had to say, or listen to what they had in mind.

For one thing, when I met Junpei, I wanted him out of my sight. When Mitsuru made her speech at that assembly, instead of trying to listen to her, I initially tried to sleep my way through. When I met that beady-eyed cougar-chaser, now that I think about it, I never really wanted to know more about him.

Hell, I never even really wanted to know more about the S.E.E.S. members, even after I joined the club.

I…never knew I could be so ignorant…

"So, instead of merely telling of the power of forming bonds with others, I shall _show_ you. Look behind you," Igor ordered.

"_**Master Yuki, it is I."**_

I turned to the brooding voice, and found Orpheus looming over me, his eyes, while still unsettlingly red, showed tenderness.

"_**Why dost thou look so perturbed, Master?"**_ he asked, tilting his head in a show of genuine concern for my well-being.

I shook my head upon realizing that I had been staring intently at him for some time. "So, you can talk now, Orpheus?" I retorted to my Persona teasingly, grinning all the while.

"_**Upon thy second blessing with the powers of the Fool Arcana, I was granted with the power of speech and communication."**_

"This is astounding," I said, proud of my Persona's new capabilities. "What about Pixie?" I asked, "Where is she?"

Igor pointed to a miniscule, pink, heart-shaped seat which sat right next to the stool of my lyre-shaped chair. Pixie sat upon it, and looked at me expectantly. She didn't speak, only blinking dumbly at me.

"Pixie shall gain the ability of speech once you establish and advance the Lovers Social Link," Igor stated,  
"So shall all the Personas you will receive in the future, once you establish and advance their respective Social Links. Not only that, they will gain new skills, new powers, new abilities! All of this will most definitely prove to be a valuable asset to you, Master."

…He's right. He's absolutely right.

If I want to keep as much lives from being ruined by the Shadows and the Dark Hour, I'll have to get stronger. If I want to protect Yukari, Junpei, and all the others in S.E.E.S., I'll have to get stronger.

I have to establish these Social Links.

If I don't, who knows what might happen? But…do I have the right to?

I mean, I'm basically making friends with people all for power. Now that I think about it, that's like selling yourself purely for benefit. Sure, I'm defending the city, I'm helping others, and I'm basically putting my life on the line for the greater good, but still…

Do I have the audacity to befriend people all for the sake of getting stronger?

…

"I'll do it," I said confidently. I had to protect the city. I had to do whatever I could. This wasn't just about avenging my family anymore. There are other lives to protect. Many other lives.

Igor nodded in approval as Elizabeth chuckled at the resolution I had made. Orpheus looked completely disinterested, but I could tell he was affected by my decision. Pixie still looked at me dumbly.

"_**Thou hast proven thyself worthy of my power…" **_said an unfamiliar female voice. Behind me was a bright light, and from that light, came a blue-skinned woman, dressed in what reminded me of a one-piece swimsuit, wearing ankle braces and wrist braces, along with a small headpiece.

"_**From this moment, thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I am Apsaras, Servant of Heroes Fallen, and of Gods Divine…"**_

Another new Persona. I am on a roll.

I exited the Velvet Room with my head held high, ready to face whatever tomorrow had in store for me. But right now, I had to find Junpei.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

For the Dimens Jacket, I was inspired by SamJaz's _Persona 3: Fairly English Story_ to have some sort of storage space for all of Makoto's weapons, to explain just how he can carry a bow, a katana, and a short sword without attracting attention.

I didn't want to use scrolls, so, I just decided to use a jacket with pocket dimensions stored in it pockets. Not the most clever of plot devices, but, hey, it's better than nothing.

Expect new Arcanas! Kind of…you'll get it once you read the next chapter.

Please review!


	16. Magus

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN - MAGUS**

Junpei and I left the mall, the former having been rejected by two teenage girls our age, who, I had to admit, didn't look all that bad. From afar.

After pulling out all the weapons I had purchased from Kurosawa while Junpei was distracted by the noise coming from the nearby nightclub, Escapade, I managed to talk him into helping me carry all the weapons. If I show everyone the abilities of the Dimens Jacket, they'll probably probe me with all sorts of questions.

Anyway, we got to talking as we started walking back to the dorm. It was evening, 6:00 PM, by the time we exited Paulownia.

"What were you thinking?" I scolded, "Going after girls like them? It's pretty much cultural knowledge that girls who laugh, talk, or even move like _that_ are bad news."

"Well, _excuse_ me for trying to get a girl…" he whined. "Anyway, you're one to talk. You already got Yuka-tan…" Huh?

"What does Yukari have to do with this?" I asked, questioning his remark. "We're just friends."

"Yeah, right. Don't you see the way she looks at you, man? She turns red whenever you enter the room…" he trailed off, with an almost deathly glare directed at me.

"You're just saying that, man," I said, sighing.

"No, seriously! I bet that just as soon as you enter the dorm, she'll smile at you or something like that. And then, when she sees me, she'll be all, 'Stupei, you idiot…'"

"What, are you jealous?" I asked. "So, what _if_ Yukari likes me? You got the hots for her, or something?"

"No," he said simply. "I just…ugh, never mind."

"Fine, I'll leave it at that, for now," I replied, knowing full well of his hidden feelings. I then decided to try and get to know him better. Hey, if I'm going to socialize, I might as well start now. "Anyway, how was life before you joined S.E.E.S.?"

Junpei's carefree, snarky face turned into one which displayed disgust and anger. "What's wrong?" I asked, now completely concerned.

"Let's just say…I didn't like it back home…" he trailed off, looking at the starry night sky with sad eyes.

"Something…happen?" I asked.

"I…I don't feel like talking about it right now, sorry. Maybe some other time, you know. When I've gotten to know you better," he replied.

"I understand." Too well, I might add.

"Anyway, what about you?" he asked. "How was your life before S.E.E.S.?"

…

"I didn't like it very much," I said. "My relatives couldn't care less about me. No one wanted to know who I was or why I was even there. Overall, I've never had that much of a life. After my parents died… I was nothing more than a blue-haired stepping post." I sighed.

All those memories back in Osaka, in Tokyo, in Inaba…were a lot to take in again.

"Wow, man…that must've been real tough," he said. "I can't imagine what you've gone through."

"Yeah. It's alright," I said, "don't worry about it."

After a brief pause, he turned to face me, pointing at me with a greasy, slightly bony finger. "No, _you_ don't worry about it!" he demanded. "You know why? 'Cuz I got your back, no matter what!" He began proudly beating his chest with his right arm, his left arm resting on his waist. I gave him a puzzled look.

He must've realized that he might have not gotten the point across enough, judging from his next statement.

"Seeing as how we're both pretty much in the same boat, here, I see no other reason why we shouldn't look out for each other."

"What do you mean, 'in the same boat'?" I asked. He sighed, as he sat down on a nearby bench. The sun set peacefully over the city as the sky turned from its pleasant shade of orange into a deep, dark blue.

"I know I told you I'd tell you about this some other time, but…my dad's…a booze hound," Junpei stated. "Ever since he got scammed by some telemarketer, that's all he's ever been…" his face contorted in his rage.

"I'm…sorry, man…" I genuinely was.

"It's alright. It feels weird, though, telling all this to some guy I just met…" he trailed off, chuckling at our sob stories.

I chuckled, "Thanks. I got your back, too."

"Good! Now, let's shake on it!" he held his hand out, and I shook it firmly.

And then, another smashing sound came, along with a blazing, almost esoteric male voice.

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Magus Arcana…"**_

…I need to talk to Igor.

"Let's get back to the dorm," Junpei said, snapping me out of what felt like a trance. I nodded at him in response. "Tomorrow," he continued, "I'll treat you somewhere with my buddy, Kenji."

"Cool. I'll be looking forward to it," I replied. We both then headed back to the dorm, chatting more and more. By the time we returned, it was 8:00 PM.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Ladies and gents…the Magus Arcana!

Yeah, it was originally the Prime Magician Arcana, but I changed it to Magus because that was what the Magician was called in the Thoth Tarot deck, and it sounded WAY better.

Please review!


	17. Treated by Two Magicians

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: TREATED BY TWO MAGICIANS**

It was Wednesday. The day we would return to Tartarus. I shuddered at the thought of returning to that hell, but knew that I had to press on, nonetheless. Yukari must've remembered what day it was, too, seeing how tense she was the whole ride to school.

We rode the monorail in silence. At Gekkoukan, we met up with Junpei, who looked uncharacteristically troubled.

"H-hey…" Junpei uttered, looking at me.

"Yeah?" I asked, almost nonchalantly.

"Y-you think we can, like…you know, reschedule it? Going back into Tartarus?" He was practically begging.

"Yeah…I-I think I understand where Junpei's coming from…" Yukari said, with her eyes downcast.

Seems like I'll have to knock some sense into them.

"Listen, guys, I know that the last time we entered Tartarus was the most frightening experience any one of us had ever been in, but, come on. The Shadows _will_ get stronger. We have to go, whenever we're available, and, today, I'd say we're pretty damn available. I don't like it either, but this is our responsibility. This is what we have to do."

Yukari sulked, while Junpei whined, "Why'd you have to say it like _that_…"

"Alright, but let's make a deal," Yukari began, facing me with dejected eyes. "We only go up two floors at a time. No more, no less. We clear out each floor, and defeat whatever Shadows we find, but if something like what happened last time happens again, then, we leave, no matter how many floors we go up."

…That's actually not a bad idea.

"Good plan. Let's stick to that," I remarked.

We gazed intently at Gekkoukan's school building. We didn't talk while looking at it, nor did we move onward. We stopped at the gates, just to look at the building. Look at it, and ponder.

How could something so peaceful in the daytime be so…horrid at night?

An irked Yukari broke the silence. "We should head inside. Ms. Toriumi will probably have our heads if we stay out here for too long…"

"Agh, don't say anything about something in the school ripping my head off…" Junpei groaned.

"S-sorry…c'mon, let's go…"

We marched on inside the school, dreading our inevitable venture back into the depths of Hell.

Luckily, we managed to make it to class, and were not chewed out by any of the teachers. Unluckily, the day was so miserably boring that, strangely, it seemed to go by somewhat quickly. I did learn, though, that exams were coming soon.

_Great_. Now, besides the fact that we're burdened with all the Shadows running about, we've got pieces of future-determining paper to deal with, too.

I was never that good with tests of any kind. I failed quizzes moderately, and when I'd pass, I'd end up getting, more or less, an average score. I never even liked exam week, either. All the life in the school would immediately get drained away in stress, sweat, fear, and concentration.

After class ended, I decided to return to the dorm, and start preparing for our next descent into Tartarus.

"Hey, Makoto!" YAH! I jolted slightly, surprised at the sudden calling of my name. Who dares to-?

Oh, it's Junpei. And the cougar-chaser. What was his name, again…?

"Makoto, this is Kenji, the one I was talking about yesterday." Oh, right. Kenji.

"Junpei, we've already met," Kenji scoffed.

"Seriously?" Junpei was flabbergasted.

"Yeah. He met up with me at the school gates, before the assembly where Mitsuru-senpai made her speech…" I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Anyway, Junpei suggested we take you to the Hagakure ramen stand down by the station. Wanna come? The food there tastes great, and I'd like to continue that talk we had back at the gate," Kenji politely stated.

Well…

"Yeah, sure," I answered. For one thing, Kenji seems like a real nice guy or, at least, someone friendly. I'd really like to get to know him. Plus, he'll probably become another Social Link. I shouldn't pass this chance up. Then again, I really wasn't that big a fan of noodles, but, whatever.

We entered Hagakure and, like a punch in the face, a sweet yet salty aroma invaded my nostrils. It smelled intoxicating, and the menu looked magnificent. The food looked sumptuous, and, for how good they looked, most of them were at a ridiculously low price.

For example, the Hagakure Special only costs 20 yen. Other restaurants in this city have their specials at about 40, maybe 50 yen! Was I in Heaven? Apparently not, because, despite all my talk about how good the food looked, everything on the menu tasted…okay.

"How can you eat all that and still be that slim?!" Kenji asked, only getting a shrug from me as a response. He and I got to talking, and Junpei had fallen asleep at the table, tired from all the schoolwork.

"Man, I told you this ramen tasted great! I bet they use some secret ingredient in it-something no other ramen shop uses, probably some secret spice…oh, sorry. My bad. I get all geeked up when I eat here." Kenji apparently has some low standards. Eh. I'll let him have this.

"I agree with you…" I trailed off, not really looking at Kenji.

"So, you can appreciate the subtle, yet distinct flavour of the soup?" Kenji had a big grin on his face.

…Now that I think about it, this dish _does_ have subtle, distinct flavours…

"Wow," Kenji said, taking me out of my train of thought. "You don't look like the type of guy I usually hang out with…" And what's _that_ supposed to mean? "I guess looks aren't everything."

…I really don't know how to take that.

"…By the way," he continued, "I hear you and Yukari are close." Oh, God, will people _please_ stop talking about that…

"We're just friends-"

"Damn, boy, you move fast!" he interrupted. "I mean, you just transferred here. Can't blame you, though, a man's gotta be aggressive, nowadays."

I rolled my eyes. Was there no end to the rumors between me and Yukari?

"Hey, let's hang out again sometime." Huh? "We'll get some food and I'll tell you all about my secret plan…wait 'til you hear it, dude, you're going to flip!"

"Sounds good."

And then, another smashing sound erupted inside my brain, as a childlike voice uttered the following words.

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Magician Arcana…"**_

Wait, didn't I already get Magician?

"Cool, then it's a date," Kenji said. "Feels weird saying it to another guy, but, hey, you get the idea. See you later." He then ran off to God knows where.

…Junpei was still asleep. And it was now 6:00.

Wait, what? CRAP!

"JUNPEI!" I shouted, giving him a rude awakening.

"WHA-WHAT?!" He looked absolutely frazzled.

"Six hours till the Dark Hour! We gotta get back to the dorm, now!" I said, commandingly.

"Is _that _all…?" Whining, he drifted back to sleep.

"Have you forgotten our plans?" He didn't. I just wanted to get the point across.

"Dude, we have six hours left…" he moaned.

"But we only have four hours to prepare," I adamantly stated. "It takes us an hour to get back to the dorm from here, and it'll take us another hour to get to the school before midnight. Judging by how hectic our last trip was, we'd need at _least _five hours to prepare and get the necessary materials."

"'Necessary materials…?'" he questioned. "Like _what_? All we need is a weapon and an Evoker."

I sighed.

"We need to prepare food. Sustenance, you know, to help keep us going. Plus, in the case that we end up somehow exhausting all our Personas, we need medicines, bandages, and other medical supplies!"

"We won't exhaust our Personas…" He was being stubborn.

"Let's just go, man, come on." He wouldn't budge. "Come on." Still, nothing. "What, do you want me to give you a piggyback ride all the way back to the dorm?" Silence.

…I hate this.

I did end up giving Junpei a piggyback ride back to the dorm. Geez, I never knew school was that tiring for a guy who never does anything during class other than telling dirty jokes…

Where'd _that_ come from? That was…unusually snarky of me.

Oh, well. Once I returned to the dorm, I was met with shocked eyes, by everyone. Akihiko's mouth was agape. Mitsuru seemed to be stifling a chuckle. Yukari just looked bewildered.

"…He was tired," was all I could say.

I dropped him down on the floor of the lobby. Hard. He woke up with a crushing pain in his posterior.

"Ow! What the hell, man!" He rubbed his butt as he scowled at me.

"If you managed to stay awake back at Hagakure, I wouldn't have to lug you all the way back here," I replied. "Plus, now, we've only got two hours to prepare for our descent into Tartarus. Carrying you all the way over here had cost us another hour, what, with all the weight I had to deal with…"

"Bah, whatever."

Did you seriously say that, Junpei?

"'Sides, like you said we still got two hours. We can prepare for our trip within that amount of time easily," he continued.

Will I have to tell him off again? "Like I said earlier, we'd need more time than that. We need medicines, bandages, and-"

"Actually, not really," Yukari interrupted. "Mitsuru-senpai and I are pretty good healers."

Oh, yeah… "W-well, we need food and sustenance to keep us going-"

"Actually, we use this stuff to keep us energized during the Dark Hour," Akihiko said, as he opened a small bag, full of what looked like potions.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Ikutsuki gave Mitsuru this stuff just yesterday. Apparently, they help heighten our senses, and, at times, can help get us out of a scrap," he replied. Junpei smirked.

"See? We don't need all those 'medicines,'" he retorted. "All we need are this stuff, our weapons, and our Evokers!"

"You'll be dead, in no time, if you keep on thinking like that," I remarked. "What if we run out of all this stuff?"

"Don't worry." Junpei just wouldn't let up. "The chairman won't forget to supply them to us."

"Yeah, but…" I trailed off, "There's something about Ikutsuki that just doesn't sit right with me…"

Mitsuru began, "Just because he tells horrid jokes does not warrant-"

"No, it's not that," I interrupted. "I don't like the looks of him. There's something about him I just don't trust…"

"Understandable," Mitsuru said. "It's only been a few days since your induction into S.E.E.S. Trusting someone you've just met is a foolish move. But, in time, I hope you will learn that trust is a pivotal aspect of the team. Remember that."

"Now," Mitsuru began, "shall we prepare for our next exploration into Tartarus?"

"Yeah, let's do this!" Junpei exclaimed while raising his fist in the air, all the fear he had exhibited earlier, now completely gone.

Yukari and I shared tense looks at each other. Another long night was ahead of us…

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Okay, I'd like to point a few things out, before some users end up harping me on them in the reviews section:

The Fusion formula for some Personas will be changed around for the sake of convenience.

In my version of Tartarus, the Shadows are much deadlier, so don't be surprised if even weak Shadows, like Cowardly Mayas, end up putting someone in the hospital.

Makoto will not use all Ultimate Personas, only using Personas that I myself used in-game.

Social Link ranking events will be slightly altered.

Some Personas and some Shadows will have different skills.

You know what? I'll go one step further. I'll write down a list of all the Personas Makoto currently has, and I'll show them in each A/N. They are ranked by power level.

Orpheus  
SKILLS: Bash

Pixie  
SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru

Apsaras  
SKILLS: Bufu, Posumundi


	18. A Second Descent

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: A SECOND DESCENT**

"Ugh, let's go already…" Yukari hesitatingly drew her bow, and strapped on her quiver as she readied herself for the coming battles of the night.

"Remember," Mitsuru began, "if you wish to return to the lobby instantaneously, use one of the Traesto gems in that bag. If you enter the labyrinth through the portal again, you will end up back on the last floor you had managed to climb up to."

"Good to know. Thanks." If I was to question the logistics of how this place worked further, I'd probably spend the entire Dark Hour here…

"Now, let's go!" I yelled.

The three of us ran into Tartarus, ready to take on whatever challenge we were about to face. At least, that's what I thought. Immediately after running in, Junpei and Yukari pinched their noses at the stench of iron.

Blood was everywhere, even more prevalent than how it was back in our last trip. I sighed, then looked around, cautiously, drawing my sword as I scanned where we were.

To my right was a seemingly endless hallway, with emerald-green walls, the usual checkerboard-patterned, blood-smeared floor, and the eerie, familiar gibberish-like noises and low, guttural growls of the Shadows which patiently lurked within.

Yukari gulped, "M-maybe we should stay away from that side…"

"But…" I began, "We can only go in that direction."

To our left was a dead end. A wall. That was it. On the wall were crevices which had blood dripping ever-so-slowly down onto the checkerboard floor, as if intentionally trying to freak us out.

We had no choice but to go right.

"Mitsuru," I said, "can you give us information on the Shadows to our right?"

"Affirmative," she replied.

"Guys, stay here, until Mitsuru finishes her analysis," I ordered. "We can't afford any chances. Especially _you_, Junpei. Don't rush in, this time." I turned to face him to get the most unsurprising surprise of my life.

He was not there. Where was he? Running off to fight the Shadows.

"Junpei, what are you thinking?!" Yukari yelled.

"Yuki, Takeba, stop him!" Mitsuru demanded.

We chased after him in the long hallway, Yukari and Mitsuru scolding him all the while and demanding to know what the hell had gotten into him.

"What are you doing?!" Yukari cried. "We need to stick together!"

"I know we can beat this thing! I just do!" he replied, still sprinting ahead of us.

"Iori! Follow orders!" Mitsuru yelled.

"C'mon, Senpai! Have some faith in me!" he brushed off her demands, smirking at how rebellious he was being.

"Junpei, this is not a smart move!" I yelled. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep this up!"

"My right foot, I'm gonna get–WAGH!"

Just at that moment, a block of ice was rammed right into Junpei's face, and he was sent to the floor, dropping his katana as Yukari and I stood by, bewildered.

"What the hell…?" my cap-wearing friend muttered.

Two Magician blobs emerged from the darkness, crawling creepily over to us, uttering horrible, low-toned noises which resembled gurgling, but, at the same time, sounded frothy in nature.

"Yukari, heal Junpei!" I ordered. "I'll make sure they don't get to him."

She nodded before grabbing a moaning Junpei by his shoulders, from the floor, aggravating the two Shadows. They roared at her, and, to that, she flinched.

I charged at the Shadows, swinging my Gladius, but they dodged my attempts at slashes, instead, circling around me, making their way to Yukari. Baring what seemed to be claws, they grabbed onto Junpei's ankles.

"YAGH! Quit it, you rejected balls of cra–AAAGGH!" he yelled louder as the Shadows tried ripping his feet off.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried, tugging at his shoulders with her left arm, as she reached for her Evoker with her right.

"Orpheus!"

Out of my head came my lyre-swinging, red-eyed buddy, ready for combat.

The Magicians gazed at the sight of my Persona, letting go of Junpei's ankles in what seemed like awe. Orpheus smashed one of the blobs down with its lyre, swinging it similarly to how Junpei would swing his katana.

Left and right, up and down, it swung with the grace of a ballet dancer, but slaughtered with the ferocity of a Samurai.

In no time flat, the blob was taken out. It was reduced to nothing but mush. The other Shadow, terrified at Orpheus' skills, scurried away, making a hilarious squeaking noise that made it sound similar to a mouse being chased by a cat.

"Get back here, you sonofa-!" Junpei yelled, getting back to his feet with a rather unsightly welt popping out from his forehead.

"Junpei, wait!" Yukari ordered.

"Hermes!"

And with the pull of the trigger, Hermes was summoned forth, and the Shadow was taken out after a quick flinging of a fireball. It wailed and screamed as it became ash, disappearing into the wind.

He then fell to the ground.

"AGGH! Crap!" he whimpered, his hands over the welt, which seemed to…pulsate.

…It's pulsating. _Pulsating_. What's worse is that Junpei fell unconscious.

"J-Junpei?!" Yukari yelled out.

Oh my God, this is bad. Gotta keep a level head, though…

"Yukari, stay here and heal him," I said. "I'll stand guard. Just stay calm and keep him alive."

"Alright…" she trailed off.

As Junpei lay there, on the floor, breathing heavily while his arms and legs were sprawled, Yukari used the powers of Io to heal him. Laying the palm of her hand tenderly onto the welt, she channelled Io's healing magic to lessen the damage to his cranium.

I stood by as I watched Yukari work her magic. Her hand, which was shining a bright pink, gradually depressed the welt on Junpei's forehead, and, in less than a minute, the pulsating monstrosity was gone. Junpei was healed. He was still knocked out, though.

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked, frowning.

"It's just…forget it."

"Come on, now…what is it?" She was getting irked.

"…The way you healed him was…rather motherly," I said, hesitatingly.

"…S-shut up…" Her face was now completely red.

And then a roar was heard.

Yukari and I turned to find three Priestesses appear from wherever the Magicians did, but they looked rather different than the once we had faced before.

Instead of being blobbed, they had the appearance of…octopi. The three of them floated in the air, in an almost hypnotizing pattern, wearing what looked like regal crowns, with six, maybe eight pink tentacles sprouting out from beneath them, dangling lazily from the bottom of the crowns.

One of them charged towards me.

*WHACK!* was the sound made when several of its tentacles made their way to my face.

"AGH!" I yelped.

I was flung into the walls from the strike, my back slamming against the emerald concrete, as blood began spurting out of the wall and onto my jacket from the resulting crater. My ribs were cracked up, _again_, and I struggled to get to my feet as I felt my back ache.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried.

"Take care of _them_!" I yelled back, pointing to our new foes, my other hand clutching my ribs tightly. "I'll be fine."

"They're called Muttering Tiaras. They have multiple weaknesses; ice and wind! Takeba, capitalize on this!" Mitsuru said, over the comm. link.

Jumping backwards to evade their swings, bow in right hand, Evoker on left, and quiver on back, she summoned Io, and yelled, "Garu!". A gust of wind was issued forth, and the poor little Tiara who struck my brains out was caught in it, blown away by the blast, into the wall at the very end of the hallway.

The two others, dodging the gust, both hurled massive fireballs at Yukari, who luckily managed to dive out of the way before they scorched her. Grabbing her bow and setting her Evoker back into her holster, she fired an arrow right into the mask of one of the Tiaras, sending it flying back with a monstrous, almost complaining wail.

He reminded me of Junpei.

…Damn you, sudden bouts of snarkiness.

"Let's do this!" I yelled, managing to pull myself to my feet.

I ran to the unwounded Tiara, who was charging at Yukari at full speed. "Take this!" she yelled, as Io blasted several gusts of wind at the Tiara, who somehow managed to dodge all of them. Nimble little bastard.

Diving in front of Yukari, I, with a grunt, impaled the Tiara right in the mask, black, tar-like fluids spilling all over my shirt as the Shadow made a moaning, yelping sound; the sound of suffering. It tried using what good tentacles it had to remove the blade, but it couldn't. It was too far in. My Gladius pierced it deep, and it couldn't do anything about it.

…That sounded dirty. I was busy enjoying myself, but Yukari was abhorred at the sight. The only thing keeping her jaw from going any deeper was the floor.

Seeing how (in Orpheus' words) perturbed she was, I removed the blade from the Tiara's mask, kicking it farther away from us.

I then turned my head to find Yukari shaking hers, and then with an "Io!" a wind attack was hurled at the Tiara, who was sent flying into the other Tiara, the one who was busy with an arrow stuck in its mask.

With an indescribably loud cry of pain, the Tiaras fell to the ground, now unconscious.

This was my chance.

"HYAH!" I yelled.

I dove in and started hacking and slashing these damned balls of tar all the way to Hell. Black, vile, viscous fluids spread all over me and ruined my good shirt, but it was worth it just to hear these monsters scream and cry, as if begging for their little Shadow mommies and daddies to save them. Hahaha.

When slashing didn't do much, I crushed them under my boot. When crushing didn't do much, I pierced them with my blade. When piercing didn't do much, I used Pixie to go all windy on their asses.

It was done.

By the time it was over, both Shadows were nothing more than piles of black mud, smeared all over the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. And on my shirt, if that counts.

Speaking of my looks, I realized I looked like a hobo.

My Dimens Jacket was bloodied from that blood-spurting crater in the wall; my hair was unkempt and shaggy from my wild slashing, and there were black, sticky, gooey liquids all over my clothes.

I looked at Yukari, whose eyes were as wide as saucers. I then smiled, casually, giving her a thumbs up-

*BOOM!*

"GAHH!" I yelled. I was sent to the floor by a fireball. My Dimens Jacket caught on fire, while my right shoulder, my right shoulder blade, and my right cheek suffered heavy burns.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried, running over to me to tend to my wounds.

Lying on my left side, I managed to peer over my shoulder to look at whatever threw that fireball at me. It was one last Tiara. The Tiara that bitch-slapped me into a wall. The Tiara that Yukari sent flying back, into another wall. The Tiara that now looked like it was glaring at me, treating me like its prey.

I reached for my Evoker, but OF COURSE! It was gone.

I tried grabbing my Gladius, but my right arm, my sword-arm, mind you, was too burnt to wield it properly.

Yukari grabbed her Evoker and stood, ready to face this thing-

*SMACK!*

"AGH!"

Yukari went flying into a wall.

"Takeba!" Mitsuru yelled.

DAMMIT!

WHEN WILL THIS TIARA THING EVER STOP BITCH-SLAPPING PEOPLE!

And now, Yukari's down.

And now, I'm floating. Oh, no, I'm not, the Tiara's using its tentacles to pick me up by the leg.

…_Great_.

And now, the goddamned thing is…laughing?

…It's chuckling. At me. It's chuckling at me. I can hear it!

It sounds like it's saying, _**"Grehehehehahehehehe…"**_

What the hell is wrong with me? What, I can understand Shadow language now? If monstrous gibberish can be considered its language?

"_**Tfhaanhatosh…"**_

Huh? W-what? It said something. What'd it say…? 'Fanhatos?'

…Thanatos. Oh my God.

"_**Nyxxawwaiiitzzhshhszz…."**_

What are you saying…?

"Here comes the cavalry!"

And with the sound of my capped friend's voice, and the swing of a katana to boot, I was free from the Tiara's grasp, the tentacle holding me up helplessly now cut up.

Junpei was back in. I managed to get away, grabbing my Evoker and using Pixie to heal myself, as I watched my capped friend take out our annoying little foe.

"Take this!" he yelled, impaling the Shadow right in the mask. It wailed and tried to break free, but the stickiness and gooiness of its own blood actually glued it onto the blade. It was stuck.

"Get off!"

Junpei then slammed his katana to the ground, several times, like a hammer, before the Tiara was crushed, unceremoniously.

"Come on, get off!" he demanded, slamming his blade down harder, crushing the Shadow down even more. A yelp was the last I heard of it, before it finally died down.

Nothing but the remaining shards of its now-in-pieces mask and mud with a mixed coloration of pink and black remained.

"Dude…this is awesome…" was all he could utter.

"Ow…" Yukari was awake. I rushed over to her.

"You alright?" I asked, relieved that she was okay.

"Y-yeah…" she said. "Did we do it?"

I nodded. She smiled, sighing as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"W-wait! You're still burnt!" she said, her hands on her mouth.

That's true. I managed to heal most of my burns with Pixie, mainly healing up my shoulder blade and arm, but my face was still pretty banged up.

"Really?" Junpei asked. "You were burnt? You don't look to bad-oh, MAN that's bad…"

"Here…" Yukari said, touching my face. "I'll take care of that."

"It's alright," I assured her. She shook her head.

"It's the least I can do."

Junpei snickered as Yukari gently caressed my face, her healing powers repairing my burns.

"T-thanks…" I said, with a grateful smile on my face.

"No problem."

I then turned to Junpei as my face decided to go stoic again.

"You guys wanna go up?" I asked, bluntly. "On to the next floor?"

And I got flinches all around as a response.

"Dude, I'm too tired…" Junpei whined.

"I can't take another step…" Yukari said, her hand on her chest, as she panted for air.

"I suggest returning now, as well," Mitsuru said. "You've done enough for today."

"But we have to go on to the next floor," I began, "Like you said, the next time we go into Tartarus through that portal-gate-thing at the entrance, we'd end up on the last floor we'd reach, wouldn't we? We should at least make _some_ progress this time."

Everyone was still tense.

"No Shadows," I sternly said, retrieving my Evoker. "We're just going up to the next floor. The second we get there, we use the Traesto gems."

"…Alright," Yukari said. "I _did_ make that agreement with you; that we'd go up two floors each time we come here…"

"…Let's just do this and go home…I'm starving…" Junpei moaned, clutching his stomach.

"There's a staircase right over at the end of the hall," Mitsuru began. "You can use it to climb to the next floor."

"Good, now, let's-"

"_**RAAAGHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**_

CRAP! More Shadows!

CRAP! There's a shit ton of them!

CRAP! They're heading straight for us!

"RUN!" Junpei yelled.

We all ran, clutching our weapons and hurrying towards the stairs. "AAGGH!" was what we screamed. _**"HRAGHHHHHH!"**_ was what we were running from.

We managed to reach staircase, getting up to the fifth step.

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Junpei yelled. "Before they get us!"

"We're close! COME ON! We're almost there!" Yukari cried.

However, no matter what, the Shadows tenaciously kept on following us. A Magician clawed his way up, managing to get to the third step.

"Get lost, turdball!" Junpei kicked its mask, allowing me to slash it with my sword, sending it back into the ground. Junpei and I unsheathed our Evokers, and wielded our blades as the Shadows closed in on us.

"Get away from us!" Yukari yelled, aiming an arrow at the Shadows with ferocious, yet terrified eyes.

We were surrounded. Again. Trapped on the staircase, as more Shadows threatened to kill us. Even more than before.

And then, an idea was hatched.

"Alright, Apsaras!" I yelled, pointing the Evoker to my head.

"Freeze them!" I ordered, pulling the trigger.

Out of my cranium came the Servant of Heroes Fallen, ready for battle. Shining with a magnificent blue aura, all the Shadows surrounding us were taken aback by how bright the light emanating from her was.

With the mere waving of one hand, all the Shadows froze in place instantaneously, encased in cold and unforgiving ice.

"This should hold them off for a while," I said, surprised at my skill. "Now, let's go!"

"When'd you get that Persona?" Junpei asked, shocked.

"Yesterday," I replied. "Just yesterday."

"And you didn't think of using her earlier? You know, on the Shadows weak against ice?"

…Oh yeah.

Yukari facepalmed.

"Let's just go…" she muttered, tiredly.

"Dude…ugh…" Junpei groaned.

We made it to the third floor and didn't say a word. My two companions were giving me the stink eyes the whole trip up. I don't blame them. I was being pretty stupid out there.

*SMASH!*

Whu-huh?

"_**The Fool Arcana hast been placed in a precarious position!  
If measures are not taken, thy bond is in danger of reversal!"**_

What does that mean…?

After getting to the third floor, which, was, aggravatingly, similar to the second floor, I used three Traesto Gems to return us all to the lobby.

Where we all fell asleep, simultaneously.

Sigh…this is not going to get any better, is it…?

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Don't worry, Makoto. I'm sure you'll think of something.

Anyway, I rewrote this entire chapter because the first time I wrote this, I was really rushing, and when I took the time to actually read it after publishing it, I found out it was crap. So here is a revision to compensate! Plus, there was a conversation at the very beginning of the chapter which I realized was completely pointless, so I removed it.

And OH NOES! The Fool Arcana is in jeopardy of reversal! How will this impact our heroes!?

I don't know. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out…

**MAKOTO YUKI'S PERSONA LIST:**

Orpheus: Level 5  
SKILLS: Bash

Pixie: Level 4  
SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru

Apsaras: Level 3  
SKILLS: Bufu, Mabufu, Posumundi


	19. Clubs

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: CLUBS**

It was Sunday evening.

"Alright, let us commence the meeting," Mitsuru said, sternly facing us, Akihiko at her side.

Junpei, Yukari, and I were sitting on the couch in the lobby of the dorm. Mitsuru was busy confronting us on our failure-iffic Tartarus expeditions, and how badly we sucked at killing Shadows.

"We understand that our midnight affairs take a heavy toll on your physical states, all of yours," she began, "however, we cannot afford to have the front lines of our squadron fall unconscious every time we descend into Tartarus."

"So, what are you planning?" I asked, bored.

"We need to train you all, inside and outside of Tartarus," she replied.

"So, Makoto," Akihiko began, pointing at me. "You'll be joining the Kendo club to improve on your skills with a sword."

"But I'm already good at handling a sword," I remarked. "I won a Kendo tournament."

"Really?" Yukari asked.

"When was that?" Junpei gave a questioning look, his arms crossed.

"Three years ago," I replied. "That's how I won that short sword I used in our first descent."

"So _that's_ where you got it from…" Yukari trailed off.

"Like you said, it was three years ago. This is the present," Akihiko said. "No matter how skilled you think you are, you're up against Shadows, here, not against some upstart from a different school. It'd be convenient to better yourself by practicing your swordsmanship further."

…He does have a point.

"Alright," I relented. I admit that I have been a little rusty with a blade, considering how good I was back then. And it's true that I haven't practiced in a while.

I'll give it a shot. It might be fun. Plus, I'll probably get another Social Link.

"In any case…" Mitsuru directed all attention towards herself. "Since Iori is best with a katana, is one of our heavy hitters, and takes on a rather…unconventional stance, he will be joining the baseball club. Not only will it supply Iori with enough exercise to withstand the harshness of Tartarus, but it will probably allow him to learn new techniques in evasion."

The baseball club? We have a baseball club?

"We have a baseball club?!" Junpei got up from the sofa, with a giddy look on his face. "SWEET! Finally, I get to show off mah skills!"

"What are you talking about, 'finally'?" Akihiko questioned. "We had a baseball club ever since last year."

We did?

"WHAT?! Why the hell didn't anyone tell me?!" Junpei cried, aggravated at this newfound revelation.

"That's because you never listen to the club orientations," Yukari replied, looking irritated. "Or check the club listings."

"Anyway, Junpei, you're into baseball?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Hell, yeah! I've always dreamt of being a pro baseball player, dude. When do we start?" he asked, now prancing up and down, like a schoolboy who was given a massive lollipop.

"Monday," replied Mitsuru. "As in, tomorrow."

"Awesome! Dude, this is going to rock!"

"Yeah, that's cool, I guess," I said, almost apathetically.

"And Yukari will be taking up yoga classes," Akihiko said. Wait, what?

"Wait, what?!" Yukari blurted. "Why?!"

"Because, Takeba," Mitsuru began, "you easily get upset, angered, or stressed, especially when confronted with a Shadow. I hate to say it, but Iori is much more level-headed than you in battle."

Mitsuru said, "Takeba, you are an excellent archer. One of the best I have ever known. However, you need to learn how to calm yourself, control your emotions, especially in the heat of battle. From what I've observed, you get easily stressed, upset, or aggravated at things that do not even warrant it, such as Iori's constant rambling about nonsense.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean-?"

"If you can't do that, you might end up getting yourself or one of your comrades injured," Mitsuru cut Junpei off.

Yukari dejectedly crossed her arms at the sound of that.

"Fine…" she muttered. "I'll go to this yoga class of yours…"

She sighed, agitated at this turn of events. Junpei was chortling his ass off at how outraged she was, and, I'm not going to lie, I was a bit amused at her anger.

"Wait, doesn't Takeba-san take archery club?" I asked. "Wouldn't yoga restrict her time practicing with a bow?"

"Yes," Mitsuru replied, "But I doubt yoga would be detrimental to her archery club activities. The former takes place only on Mondays and Fridays, after classes, but the latter takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays."

"Now, any questions?" Akihiko asked.

I shook my head. Yukari was still irritated, and Junpei shook his own, grinning mischievously as his mind wandered off to other things which I don't really know. Probably something about him becoming a baseball player or something…

"Then, it's settled." Mitsuru clapped her hands. "This meeting is adjourned. I'll see to it that you attend your respective after-school classes. Return to your duties."

_She's_ kind of bossy. Mitsuru and Akihiko then went upstairs, doing whatever seniors do in their spare time. Probably studying. I'll go with that.

"Well, now that that's over with…" Junpei trailed off, stretching. "I'mma get some sleep. See ya later, guys."

He then ran up the stairs, ready for a day out in the field.

I turned to see Yukari still fuming. I sighed.

"You know," I began, in an attempt to calm her nerves, "Mitsuru-senpai is doing this for our own good. You should be thankful."

"Pfft," she replied. "Yeah, right. She's probably just doing this because she wants us to meet her expectations…"

"Where is this coming from?" I asked, curious. "She seems like a well-meaning person. I know, she's a _little_ domineering, but, I'm sure she just wants what's best."

She sighed, still a little ticked off. But, luckily, she uncrossed her arms. I'm getting somewhere.

"You're right…it's just...there's something about her that I don't really trust. I feel like she's hiding something from us."

"So…you feel the same way towards her as I feel towards Ikutsuki?" I asked.

"I guess…" she chuckled, leaning back on her sofa cushion. "But it sure sucks being lectured like that. Especially after she gave Stupei more credit than me…"

"Well, then, I guess there's only one thing to do," I said. She looked at me, questioningly, raising herself up from the cushion.

"Prove her wrong," I smirked, my eyes slightly droopy.

She snorted, but then smiled at me. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up," she said. "And call me Yukari. No need for formalities. We _are_ in the same dorm, after all…"

I smiled.

And so, Monday came. Junpei was stoked to finally try his hand at baseball, Yukari was as stoic-faced as me on good days, and I was genuinely excited to return to Kendo, although I didn't really show it. I am such a killjoy.

Exams were still coming up. They were a long ways away, though. Apparently, and, by apparently, I mean, through information received from eavesdropping, the schoolteachers have a penchant for reminding students of exams way in advance, so as to give them more time to study.

That's a relief.

After boring rounds and rounds of teacher after teacher after teacher after aggravatingly boring teacher, I made my way to the gymnasium to apply myself for Kendo club.

And wham, I was met by a bunch of guys in dark blue robes, all of whom looked at me as I burst into the room, lowering their wooden kendo blades in both surprise and slight distrust. As I made my way through the gymnasium, to Mr. Takenozuka, the coach of this entire club (and my physics teacher), I was met by curious, belittling eyes.

Everyone in the club was much taller than me. By a foot, maybe two, they loomed, looking at me as if I was some piece of meat that was condemned to the grinder the moment I arrived. They sicken me already.

"I assume Mitsuru-senpai has already informed you of my applying to this club?" I asked the coach.

"Yes, yes, she has," he replied. "Everyone, this is Makoto Yuki. He'll be joining the team as of today."

He then gestured towards a dark-skinned, ponytailed girl wearing a track uniform, for some reason. "This is Yuko Nishiwaki," he said. "She's the team's manager."

"Hey," Yuko said, waving an arm at me in greetings. "You're a junior, too, right? Since we're both in the same year, you can just call me 'Yuko.'"

"Cool," I replied, with a robotic voice.

"…Hey! Kazushi!" the coach yelled.

"Comin', coach!"

Out of the crowd came a relatively short guy, about four inches taller than me, by my estimations. He was dark-skinned, like Yuko, but to a lesser degree. He had quite a large lower lip, black, frazzled hair, big, brown eyes, a short forehead, and a larger-than-normal nose.

With a gesture to the guy, "This is Kazushi Miyamoto," Coach said, "The future captain of the team. You two are in the same class, right? Kazushi, keep an eye out for the new guy here, okay?" he asked, now looking intently at Kazushi.

"Got it, Coach," Kazushi replied. The frazzled-haired future captain then turned to me, and asked, "You're the guy who went out with Yukari Takeba on the first day, right?"

Oh, come on! Not you, too! How popular _is_ Yukari…?

"Yes…" I replied, tiredly, but in a way that could be interpreted as me awaiting a response.

"You're practically famous," he said. "You've seen me around, right?"

…Not really…wait…oh yeah, I remember this guy.

"Yeah, you're always wearing a track uniform…" I trailed off. Why _does_ he wear a track uniform…?

"Then, long story short, you're mine after school," he said.

Nice guy.

_***SMASH!***_

GAH! Damn, that was shocking.

Anyway, a monstrous, beast-like voice rang in my head; guttural and almost sounding like it was struggling with its words, it said:

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Chariot Arcana…"**_

This ought to be fun.

Since it was my first day, Yuko allowed me to just call it a day and return home, promising to get me my uniform the next time I drop by. I didn't socialize much with the other members. Seemed like kind of a hassle.

After saying my goodbyes to the team, I left to fetch Yukari and Junpei. It was 5:00 PM. The three of us agreed to meet up at the school gates, when we were done with our respective activities, but apparently, they're being held up by God knows what.

"Yo, Makoto!"

And speak of the devil; Junpei just arrived, sweaty, dirty, smelly, and greasy, but smiling like an idiot all the while.

"Hey. Where have you been?" I asked.

"Dude, baseball club is so sweet! The overseer is awesome, the guys in the club are great, and, hey, lots of cute girls mooned over us! Damn, it felt good!"

"That's nice," I said. "Good to know you're so pepped."

"Well, I-"

"Junpei!" The unfamiliar voice was owned by a tall young man, with unnaturally spiky black hair, caramel eyes, and thin eyebrows. Wearing a dirtied, white-and-blue baseball jersey, he ran towards Junpei with something red in his hands. A handkerchief, maybe…?

"You forgot this…" he said, panting for air, handing Junpei his…S.E.E.S. collar.

…Junpei almost forgot his S.E.E.S. collar.

I almost facepalmed right then and there.

"O-oh, thanks, Satoshi!" Junpei said. "Damn, senpai would've killed me if I lost this…"

You think?

"You're part of S.E.E.S.?" the young man apparently named Satoshi asked. Wait, what? HE KNOWS ABOUT S.E.E.S.?!

"Y-yeah," Junpei replied. "It's nice, although we d-don't do much, hehe…right, Makoto?"

Oh, wait…S.E.E.S. is classified as a school club. Phew. Almost forgot.

"Yeah…" I trailed off, in response to Junpei's poorly-said words.

"Ah, so _you're_ Makoto Yuki," Satoshi said, facing me. "I've heard a lot about you."

"You _have_…?" I asked, rhetorically.

"Yeah, you're quite popular in the student body," he said. "But, I'm sure you've heard that many times by now…"

"More than I ever wanted to…" I muttered.

"Haha! I bet!" he laughed. "My name's Satoshi Himuro, and I'm the captain of the baseball team," he said, pointing a thumb at himself. "Maybe you could stick around once in a while, you know, if you got the time. You could even join us, if you want…"

"I already joined Kendo club, sorry," I said.

"Really? Damn. Say hi to Kaz for me, though."

"Alright."

_***SMASH!***_

A calm, soothing voice echoed the following words:

"_**Thou art I, and I am thou…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the powers of the Tower Arcana…"**_

Two in one day?

We said our goodbyes to Satoshi and headed off, to find Yukari.

"We were supposed to wait by the gates, Junpei…" I moaned, as we ran towards where Yukari was apparently having her yoga classes, the abandoned fifth floor classroom.

"Waiting around is for losers!" he cried, sprinting ahead of me, like how he did back in Tartarus. "C'mon, we're close by!"

"We might end up disturbing them," I insisted.

"No, we won't. Besides, isn't the thought of Yuka-tan stretching in all sorts of poses enough to stand around and maybe catch a glimpse…?" he winked.

"No. Like I said, we're just friends. I don't really have a crush on anyone."

"Seriously?" he asked, turning his head to me.

"Well, I had a girlfriend once, but she-"

"Hold that thought!" he said, holding a finger in my face, as we finally stopped running. We were at the fifth floor, right in front of the door where Yukari was having her yoga classes.

I cursed myself for letting Junpei get me this far. I saw him teeter the door just a wee bit open, letting a sliver of light from the room shine forth.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Getting a glimpse…"

"Yukari, and any other girl inside there, will probably kill you the moment they see your face…" I warned.

"C'mon…" was all he said, seemingly to no one in particular. "Show me something worth remembering!" he muttered, in a hushed, whispering tone of voice. I facepalmed.

"Alright, we're done!" said a voice from the inside.

"DAMMIT!" Junpei yelled. Realizing the stupidity of yelling _within earshot_ of the girl (or girls) he was trying to peep on, he clamped his mouth shut, covering it with both of his hands, while looking at me, frightened.

"What was that?" Oh, man. It's Yukari.

"Junpei? Makoto-kun? What're you two doing here?" she asked, after opening the door.

Answering her, I said, "Junpei and I were waiting at the school gates for you, Junpei got impatient, then decided to run off to find you, I chased after him and tried to get him to stop, but since Junpei's, well, Junpei, he continued running until we both ended up here. Then, he tried to peep on you to get aroused if you were doing any provocative poses."

To that, Junpei's eyes widened as he screamed, his mouth still covered by his hands, making his outcry sound like the hum of a dying laptop.

"…"

Yukari blinked. Then slapped Junpei on his left cheek, leaving a bright red handprint.

"OW! What the hell?!" he cried, clutching his cheek with his left hand.

"That's what you get for peeping…" I muttered.

"S-shut up…"

Yukari sighed, "When will you ever learn, Stupei…?"

"Oh, who are these two?" another unfamiliar voice rang out from inside the classroom. A male one.

"They're just my dorm mates, Kitamura-senpai…" Yukari replied, as a young man emerged from the door. He had blue, tufted hair, which similar in hue to my own, a soft jaw, cheery, but somewhat tired, glazed eyes, and a small nose. He was wearing a black tank top, grey, baggy pants, and a white bracelet around his right wrist. Plus, he was shorter than Yukari.

…I don't know what to say about that, considering he's my senpai...

"Oh, hello," he said to Junpei and I, timidly. "You must be the new transfer student. My name is Tomoya Kitamura. It's nice to meet the both of you." He bowed, respectfully, to us.

"Hello, senpai," I said. "It's nice to meet you, too. My name is Makoto Yuki, and this is Junpei Iori," I said, pointing my thumb to my capped friend, who was still comforting his injured cheek. "I'm here to pick up Yukari."

He blinked, a tinge of pink appearing on his face, before looking away.

"Wow, Takeba-san, you're so close to the new transfer student already…" he trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed. Must be because I said Yukari's first name…

"…H-he's not my boyfriend, Kitamura-senpai…" Yukari began. "We just decided not to bother with formalities."

"Oh." His face brightened considerably. "Um, sorry for the misunderstanding." He moved to bow again, but I motioned for him to stop.

"It's alright…" I said. "Don't worry about it, senpai."

"Sorry…I'm terribly awkward in situations like this, but, it's good to make your acquaintance, Makoto-kun."

"Likewise," I said with a slight smile.

_***SMASH!***_

A knightly, regal voice uttered the words:

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Hierophant Arcana…"**_

…Wait, what's a hierophant, again?

Oh, well. Anyway, three Social Links in one day! That wasn't so bad. I'm making progress!

I should keep track of these things, though…

It was now 5:30 PM. Yukari, Junpei, and I all walked home together, our heads held high. Well, my head, anyway. Yukari was tired, and Junpei smelt himself, retching at his own stench.

"So, how was Kendo?" Yukari asked me.

"It was alright. A lot of the guys were kind of intimidating, though. But, I'll survive," I replied.

"I can see Junpei had a lot of fun at baseball practice…" she muttered, glaring at Junpei, whose skin was so greasy that it was reflecting the sunlight. Eeegh.

"How was yoga?" I asked.

"It was better than I expected. The people were _much_ friendlier compared to the archery club, I admit…"

"So, you looking forward to attending this Friday?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll give it a shot."

"That's good," I said. "Now, when do you want to go to Tartarus?" I asked, bluntly.

_That_ got me some stares.

"Uh…" Junpei muttered, hands now off his cheek for the first time since we left the school, as he stared at me with hesitant, cowardly eyes. "Maybe…Saturday? Of next week…?"

He's holding out for hope.

"I honestly agree with Junpei…I think we should lay off Tartarus for the week…" Yukari trailed off, thinking back to the high risks of our last expedition.

Guh.

"Fine," I said, hands in pockets. "We venture forth next Saturday. But we go up three floors this time."

They flinched, then shared nervous looks with each other, before looking at me with dejected eyes.

"Alright…" Junpei said, head facing the ground.

"Good. Now, let's get home."

_***SMASH!***_

Huh?

"_**The Fool Arcana is in extreme danger of reversal!  
If precautions are not taken, the bond thou hast forged will be reversed!"**_

WHAT?! COME ON!

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Makoto is such a slave driver.

There will be an explanation on the changes of the Hierophant and Tower Arcana, along with an explanation on Makoto's ex-girlfriend.

Anyway, OCs! Yes, in my novelization of _Persona 3_, there are OC Social Links! Again, heresy! Like I said, there is a purpose for changing the characters representing the Hierophant and Tower Arcana. Rest assured the original S-Links will play a hand in these new ones.

Please review!


	20. Hearing Voices

**CHAPTER TWENTY: HEARING VOICES**

I found myself on a road. The road of the Moonlight Bridge. It was the Dark Hour. But I wasn't afraid. This was a dream. I knew it was a dream. No, wait, not a dream, but a nightmare.

I've had this nightmare for years, replaying all the events that transpired the night my family was taken from me. Replaying all the events I had experienced firsthand. Replaying all the pain, tragedy, and sadness.

I lifted my seven-year-old hand to see that it was stained red, reeking of iron and pierced by small, sharp shards of glass. I remember feeling scared, vulnerable, frightened, ignorant of my surroundings, and, most of all, sorrowful.

Especially after I looked behind me, and saw my parents' mangled corpses looking at me, their eyes replaced by giant, gaping holes, spurting and spilling out nothing but red. Their arms were dirtied and bent in different directions. Sickening directions. Their mouths were open, most of their teeth having fallen into their crushed, broken throats. Their abdomens were pierced with all sorts of sharp objects, tools, shards of glass, and pipes.

I couldn't see their legs. But I could see the gasoline spilling out onto their waists.

I tried to move, but I felt my legs give out. I could see my shinbone jutting out from my left leg, and I don't think you'd want to know about what happened to my right. My spine felt shattered. My ribs were threatening to splinter their way out of my chest.

I managed to crawl my way out of the wreckage, which was easy to do, considering that we had no more car doors. I looked at the destroyed vehicle, and got the shock of my life. It was upside down. Overturned. Blood began to spread out onto the road, from the contorted, dead bodies of my parents. What was worse was that the blood mixed in with the spilling gasoline.

I coughed out blood and vomit onto the gravel of the road, keeling over from both the horror of it all and the mortality of my wounds.

"Makoto!"

Hamuko would rush to my side, strangely unwounded, but teary-eyed. She hugged me tightly, not noticing how I was wincing from how her tight hold managed to irritate my fractured bones.

"I thought you were…" she cried.

"I-I'm not going to leave you, Hamuko," I mustered. "Never…" I confidently smiled, to reassure my sister that we would be okay.

And then the roar was heard.

I pushed Hamuko behind me with my bloodied right arm, as I saw the monster, the Shadow that killed our parents, battle what looked like a blonde-haired girl. I didn't get a good look at her face. She moved too swiftly for me to scan her facial features.

Hamuko cowered in fear at the sight of these two combatants. I bared my teeth and ground them against each other in rage.

"Hamuko, run…" I whispered.

"No," she said. I could feel her face pressed against my back, the wetness of her tears making me shudder and shiver at how unnaturally cold they were.

"Go, now," I ordered, now finding the courage within myself to look at her.

"No!" she said, her shoulders now twitching from her sudden crying

"Please…go…" I didn't want her to leave me. If I had a choice in the matter, I would have let her stay. But I had no choice. I couldn't let her stay. I was too wounded to keep on moving. She was fine. She could escape. She could live. "Go, now!" I sternly demanded, yet cautiously keeping my voice down so as to not attract attention.

"I'm not leaving you!" she yelled. Quite loudly. So loudly, the Shadow heard us. And flew towards us.

"_**HRAAGHHHHHH!"**_ it wailed, as it rushed in.

It was there, the dream would stop. It was at that moment, where my memories of that night would suddenly come to a halt. But right now, something…different occurred.

"_You'll survive…"_ I heard a voice say. _"You'll survive…"_

And, with that, I awoke. I was in the auditorium. I remember now. It was another-ANOTHER-assembly, headed by the principal of the school. I was put to sleep by the hiss ramblings, uncaring if any of the teachers caught me.

Around me, I saw students and teachers leaving the premises, heading back to their classrooms. I rubbed my eyes and yawned loudly, lapping my lips twice. Wearing my spare Gekkoukan jacket, I left the Dimens Jacket back at home, planning to have Elizabeth repair it soon.

"You're real lucky, you know that, Makoto?" Junpei snorted, staring into my newly-awakened eyes with slight jealousy.

"How was the speech…?" I asked, dazedly.

"It was weird," he replied. "It sounded just like Mitsuru-senpai's speech…"

"I heard that the principal just wrote it to compete with senpai's, out of envy," Yukari interrupted.

"What?!" Junpei cried. "Why do we have to suffer, 'cuz of his ego?!"

"Well, it's over now, at least…" I muttered, getting out of my seat. "Let's get back to class."

We returned to class, and I was faced with more teachers, who were teaching more lessons, reading more books, and UGGHHH I just didn't care anymore. I decided to shove my mind into more pressing matters.

I thought about my dream.

Who spoke that voice at the end of it? Where did it come from? Who did it come from? And why did it suddenly appear in my dreams, after all these years?

I've had this dream for a decade now, and I've never heard those words uttered until today. Does it have something to do with the Shadows? The Dark Hour? My sudden arrival back in Iwatodai? Probably not, but, then again…

Was the person who said them…_Hamuko_?

…It _did_ sound slightly like her.

It had the same tone, the same perky, upbeat vibe her voice usually had. But it was…different. It sounded older. As in, it sounded as if it came from someone my age. A seventeen-year-old. Not someone who was _four_.

Now that I think about it, it had a hint of…desperation in it. Sorrow. Regret. Sadness…and, strangely enough, relief. Assurance…happiness, even. The voice sounded euphoric, but tortured. Glad, yet broken. Joyful…and, simultaneously, lost.

'You'll survive…'

Was this Igor playing tricks on me? My Personas, somehow, and for no apparent reason, messing around with my psyche? Was I just imagining this?

I was still cogitating by lunchtime. Everyone left the room but me. I heard the teacher call me over, but I paid him no attention. I heard him scoff, annoyed, before he left the room. I was left alone in the classroom.

Alone with my thoughts.

Or so I thought.

"Makoto!" Junpei called, patting me on the back. "You okay, man? You look a little pale. Are you still tired?"

"N-no, I…it's nothing…" I trailed off, not really paying attention to Junpei.

"Nope, something's bugging you."

Where'd you come from, Yukari?

"What is it?" she asked, sitting down in the seat next to me.

"Like I said…it's nothing…" I said, my normally stoic face going into a dark, droopy frown. Damn you, involuntary facial reactions…

"You're lying, dude. C'mon, tell us," Junpei insisted. "We can't have you all mopey when we go to Tartarus in a few days."

A few days…? Oh yeah…I promised we'd go to Tartarus this Saturday. It's been…what, four, five days since I proposed that? "O-oh, yeah…" I muttered, now looking out the window.

"Just tell us…" Yukari said. "It's what friends are for, isn't it?"

…

"…I dreamt about my sister," I said, bluntly, with a subtle amount of force in my voice. "I had the dream earlier, during the assembly."

"You had a sister…?" Junpei asked, eyebrows arched.

I nodded, solemnly. "Her name was Hamuko," I said. "She…she died, along with my parents, in that car accident I told you about. I had a bad dream about her earlier, and, needless to say, I was distressed by it…"

"Whoa…" Junpei took a few steps back and sat down on the seat in front of me, turning the seat in my direction.

"Oh…s-sorry for asking…Makoto-kun…" Yukari said, turning her head to the floor, reluctant to look at me.

"It's all right," I assured her. "Now that I think about it, it might've been worse if I kept it all inside. Thanks for listening," I smiled.

"Hey, like Yuka-tan said, that's what friends are for."

"…Yeah. I guess."

"So, now that that's settled, let's go to lunch!" Junpei proposed, getting out of his seat and placing his hands on his hips.

"Okay, sure," Yukari said.

I nodded.

Precisely after getting out of our seats, Mitsuru suddenly entered the room, her arms crossed, and her gaze icier than ever. Junpei actually took a step back at the sight of her. Yukari just frowned, looking irritated at her sudden arrival.

"Yuki, I'm sorry to interrupt your lunch break, but I need to speak to you after classes. I have a special request for you," Mitsuru said, almost demandingly. I could see, from the corner of my eye, Junpei grinning at me approvingly.

"Why me?" I asked.

"I apologise for being in a rush, but I don't feel comfortable asking anyone else. I'll tell you more about it after school. Au revior."

Mitsuru then left, the tapping sounds of her heels echoing throughout the corridors, patterned almost musically.

"Hehe…first, Yuka-tan, and now, Mitsuru-senpai…you're one of a kind, dude," Junpei chuckled.

"W-what are you talking about?!" Yukari demanded, flustered at Junpei's comment. "Why do you keep on pairing me with him?!"

And is there anything wrong with that?

"Because you two look so cute together!" Junpei chortled.

And _that_ got him some stares. Well, a stare from me, a glare from Yukari. Sadly, the poor fool (or, Magician?), never seemed to notice Yukari's fuse going off.

"I mean, come on! You two are such polar opposites that you deserve to be together!"

We are?

"Just look at you-!"

Junpei halted his speech, finding Yukari now flaring up, her eyes piercing deep into his soul with a bloodthirsty gaze, her eyebrows contorted into a near-devilish position, and her teeth baring themselves, showing intensely sharp, whitened canines.

"Uh…see you guys later!" Junpei cried, before suddenly sprinting away from us, out the door, at what seemed like mach speed. Luckily, this allowed Yukari to calm down.

"What is wrong with him?" Yukari sighed, facepalming exasperatedly at Junpei's antics.

"Don't mind him," I said. "That's just how he operates. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"Please. I've been stuck with him for three years, and I'm still not used to it," she retorted. "He's just like a little kid who found a bike somewhere in a ditch! I just wish he'd mature, you know? Take things seriously, for once."

"Well, I'm sure he'll mature, especially with what's on the line, here," I said. "We're fighting Shadows in a time period no one knows about, we're risking our lives, and pretty much the lives of everyone else in the city, fighting these monsters, and, what's worse, we've got school to cope with all the while."

"That's true…" Yukari mused. "But, at the same time, I'm worried about him. He's so rash and uncontrollable. He might end up getting us in trouble."

"I'm sure he won't," I replied. "He's cocky, yes. I'd even say he's arrogant. But he's also pretty reliable. Trust me."

"I hope you're right about that…" she trailed off.

"Anyway, you got to learn when to calm down," I said, with a slightly scolding tone of voice.

"What was that?" she asked, now frowning almost as how she was just a moment ago.

"This is why Mitsuru-senpai put you in yoga classes. You have to learn to lighten up, especially since you're working with the guy you're so irritated by."

She sighed.

"…I suppose you're right," she mumbled. "I guess I _can_ be a little over-the-top, at times…"

"You know…" I began, "The night we first stepped into Tartarus, when you got knocked out, Junpei was really worried for you."

She gave me a bewildered look. "Really?" she asked.

"He was fuming. He yelled out 'you sons of bitches,' before burning the Magician that smashed you in the head to death," I said.

She gave a look of guilt, turning her head away from me, seemingly in shame.

"Look, the point I'm trying to get across is, he may not be the best of people, but, when you get down to it…when the world turns your back on you…he'll be there. I know it," I remarked, gallantly defending my capped friend.

She looked back at me, now.

"The least you can do is have some faith in him," I said. "Believe in him. I'm sure he'll pull through."

"…Alright," she replied. "For _your_ sake, I'll trust Junpei. For now, at least."

"Good."

_***SMASH!***_

GAD!

"_**The Fool Arcana hast been lifted out of the dangers of reversal…  
Thy bond has been placed back on the proper route…"**_

Oh. Awesome.

* * *

And soon, the school day ended. Yukari headed off to archery club, Junpei headed off to baseball club, while I was stuck in the classroom, waiting for Mitsuru to come by to tell me what she was planning to tell me earlier.

"Yuki, would you be interested in joining Student Council?"

GAH! Where'd you come from, Mitsuru?!

Wait…Student Council?

"…Student Council?" I asked, reciting my own thoughts, but preventing my shock at my senpai's sudden appearance from surfacing.

"It's not like you'll have to participate in every activity," she replied, seeing my confusion. "Just come to the Student Council room when you have the time."

"...Is that it?" I asked.

"Yes, that's it," she said, firmly. "I just want you to join."

"...Um, if you don't mind me asking, why?"

"Because of your leadership skills. Being president is very time consuming. I'd like to have additional help available in the event of an emergency. _You_ understand my situation...I'm asking you since you know what it's like to be a leader," she replied.

"...Alright."

"I knew I could count on you," she said. "I've already made an appointment for you with the faculty advisor-"

"Wait, what?" I interrupted.

"I have already made an appointment for you with the class advisor."

"...Without my permission?"

"Yes. You'll have to go to the faculty office on your own."

...

An awkward silence brewed between the two of us. Our faces were as solid and frozen as rocks. The impoliteness of the whole situation didn't seem to dawn of my senpai, whose arms remained crossed and legs stood firm. Mitsuru finally broke the tension after her left eyebrow made a twitching motion.

"I'm sorry for making the arrangements without your permission," she said, "But I hope you understand the position I'm in. Please go to the Faculty Office, Yuki. I'll be waiting for you in the Student Council room."

"...Fine," I replied. "I'll head over there today."

After getting approval from Ms. Toriumi in the Faculty Office, I headed over to the Student Council room. Looking out the window, I spotted Junpei chatting with Satoshi, who looked both annoyed and thankful for my capped friend's company. I can sympathize. Plus, I saw Tomoya talking with Yukari, blushing all the while, as the latter talked up a storm with him, smiling at him.

It was nice, seeing Yukari show any emotion other than rage-

*SMACK!*

That hurt. I was pushed a little backwards from the sudden impact of whatever had careened into me, and ended up embarrassingly tripping, falling ass-first onto the floor. Now I know how Junpei felt back when I dropped him right against the floor of the dorm's lobby. No, wait...I've got it worse. At least the lobby had an abnormally thick carpet. This was hard concrete on my posterior.

"S-sorry!"

I turned my head to the apologetic voice, seeing a mousy, bespectacled brunette crouching down and picking up scattered book after scattered book frantically. She looked both afraid and surprised to see my rather emotionless face stare her down.

I outstreched my arm to grab one of her books. She inched back and started to shudder.

"Umm..." she muttered.

"I believe this belongs to you..." I said, handing her hardbound Science book back to her. She snatched it right out of my hands in a motion so fast i barely saw it.

"T-thank you!" she yelled, rather loudly, before heading into the Student Council room. Wait...is she a member? Or did she just dive into another room without thinking-

_***SMASH!***_

OW! God!

A motherly, yet firm voice then uttered the following words:

_**"Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Justice Arcana..."**_

...How the hell does bumping into someone equal a Social Link?

Ugh, whatever, let's just get this over with...

I entered the Student Council room, and was met by stern faces, formal postures, and demeaningly squinty eyes. It was both hilarious and intimidating. But it helped that I was at least an inch taller than most of them, save Mitsuru and a certain gray-haired gentleman, whose eyes seemed especially squinty.

"Ah, you've arrived," Mitsuru spoke up. "Everyone, this is Makoto Yuki. He's the one I've been talking about these past few days. He'll be joining us in Student Council."

"Makoto, huh..." the gray-haired guy said, looking at me intently with his arms firmly crossed. "I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri. I supervise the Disciplinary Committee."

That mousy brunette I met earlier looked at me with surprise, then shook it off before introducing herself.

"I-I'm Chihiro Fushimi...the treasurer. I, uh...I'm a sophomore, and I'm still learning the ropes...so...please be patient with me, Makoto-san..."

"I'll be on my best behavior," I assured her with a stoic, solid-as-stone face.

"...You must be talented, if the president hand-picked you," Hidetoshi uttered, sizing me up.

"I guess I am," I replied, my voice not changing from its monotone, earning me a respectful arch of an eyebrow from my senpai.

**_*SMASH!*_**

And a mighty, booming voice that exuded domination said:

**_"Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Emperor Arcana..."_**

I am just that good.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Okay, since it's the twentieth chapter and we're _still_ not at the Arcana Priestess Shadow battle, and, since I have an irritatingly unquenchable penchant for covering every single detail about Makoto's school life, his social life, and his nights in Tartarus, I've decided on something.

There's going to be a pattern for each chapter; one will focus on a Tartarus expedition, another will focus on Social Links, and so on and so forth. From this point onward, around five to six chapters will take place before the Arcana Shadow battles. For this occasion, though, expect the Priestess battle taking place in Chapter 22.

Please bear with me…and please review. Reviews are fuel. Fuel is good.


	21. Reap What You Sow

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: REAP WHAT YOU SOW  
**

* * *

_**PRESENT TIME, 42 MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR. SIXTH FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK.**_

* * *

How do I get myself into these situations…?

"Yuki, can you hear me?" Mitsuru asked, over the comm. link.

"Loud and clear," I replied. "I'm going to try and locate Yukari and Junpei. Wait for me back at the entrance, and don't follow me. I doubt either you or Akihiko would be able to help in this situation…"

"Understood."

Alright, I am stuck on the sixth floor of Tartarus' first block.

I awoke here after falling unconscious, for some reason, to myself alone, without any companions.

So, I am separated from my friends, the room is somehow darker than the night sky itself, and I hear nothing but the gurgling, bubbling sounds of Shadows lurking about in the…well, shadows.

Mitsuru can't scan anything in this darkness, so I can't tell what's in front of me, or what's behind me, Junpei's probably pissing himself, Yukari's probably defending herself from the Shadows, and I'm stuck here, having lost my Evoker.

I **lost** my **Evoker**.

This is the worst situation ever. What series of events did I have to go through to get here, anyway…?

Oh, yeah, I remember.

* * *

_**20 MINUTES EARLIER. THIRD FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK.  
**_

* * *

We were on the third floor of Tartarus. It was our third descent into this damned tower, and we were more terrified than a bunch of boys who'd just realized they were stuck in a girls-only hot spring. The three of us initially started out this journey with our heads held high, and our spirits raised. We were hopeful. We were confident. We were excited.

Or at least, trying to be, anyway.

"Alright, let's kick some Shadow ass!" Junpei yelled.

"Keep your voice down!" Yukari scolded. "What if they hear you…?"

"O-oh yeah…sorry…"

"Just keep together this time," I ordered. "Junpei, don't you dare run off on us again."

"I won't! Trust me, this expedition won't be like last time!" He was waving his arms around defensively, as his sword rested snugly inside a sheath I had bought for him just yesterday. He still hasn't thanked me for it.

"Just calm down, and keep moving…" I whispered.

We treaded the floor stealthily, careful not to generate even the smallest of noises. That's how paranoid Tartarus had made us. This place was our school. Our _school_. And there we were, basically forcing ourselves to tiptoe our way through a single freaking hallway. And then we spotted three, blobby Magicians from around the corner, seemingly searching the area for prey. The monstrous, lurching sounds produced from their movements never ceasing to disgust me.

"Junpei, deal with them," I ordered, "but be careful."

"Right!" My friend pointed the Evoker to his temple, sweat beading ever so slowly down his forehead. He was scared. Scared that any sound he'd make would cause a stampede or something. Understandable. I mean, all our failed expeditions into Tartarus were only failed ones because of something coming up out of nowhere and screwing us over.

"No," I ordered, "not Hermes. Not just yet. We use him, we risk giving ourselves away. Shadows would take notice of us from all over. For now, just use your weapons, both of you. Only use Personas when you absolutely need to."

"…Alright…" Junpei mumbled. "I think that's the best strategy, for now. What's the plan?"

"Yukari, stay by the sidelines and heal us when necessary. Junpei and I will jump in and attack. In the very likely case one of those things ends up evading our attacks, and tries to escape, let it. If it chases after you, shoot it down."

I said all this with the finesse of a speaking coach.

Yukari nodded in agreement of this plan.

"Okay then," I continued, "three, two, one…go!"

Junpei and I lunged after the Magicians, swords in our hands, Evokers in our holsters, fear on our faces, and determination in our eyes.

The Shadows hissed upon our arrival, baring their claws and heading towards us, the blobs that they were, they moved unexpectedly fast.

"Hyah!" Junpei cried, as he laid the first blow, diving in front of me and impaling one of the Magicians right in the mask, heartlessly and violently. Black spurted out onto his sword and his clothes, as the Magician he had impaled cried out in anguish and pain.

"_**EWYAAHAHHAHAAAAAAHHHH!"**_

The sound was deafening.

An arrow flew from Junpei's left, and finished the Magician off as it continued its death cries.

I gave Yukari a thumbs-up as a response to her magnificent skills. "Good job," I told her. "Now- "

*SMASH!*

DAMMIT, MY HEAD HURTS.

I was sent careening to the floor from an ice block, flung by one of the two remaining Magicians. I switched my Personas from Orpheus to Apsaras; the Servant of Heroes Fallen has a fair resistance against ice attacks.

But that didn't stop my head from feeling like it was cracked open with a goddamned hammer.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried.

"You bastards!" Junpei immediately went apeshit. "This'll teach you-!"

He ran over to the last two Shadows, wielding his katana gallantly as he dove in and plunged his sword deep within the mask of the monster that smashed a block of ice into my face like a baseball to a pitcher's glove. Yukari ended up healing my wounds, thankfully, as I heard the beast Junpei had just slain wail and flail uncontrollably, stuck under Junpei's gleaming blade.

**_"AAAAAAAHHHAHHHAHAHWAHHHAHHIIIIIAIAIIIIIIAAAAA!"_** was the unsightly sound it produced. In fact, Yukari and I had to cover our ears upon hearing it. Junpei just drove the blade deeper down.

Pulling it out, black tar spread across the floor as the other Magician just looked at its companion's bleeding corpse with what seemed to be shock. It squirmed away from Junpei and headed into the darkness, cowardly attempting to avoid any contact with us weapon-wielding Shadow-hunters. Good choice.

"...Heh...bitch..." Junpei snorted, before collapsing to his knees.

"You okay?" I asked, my wounds now having been completely healed.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, "I-I never knew I could be so...brutal, man...I mean, yeah, it was just a Shadow, but..."

"Well, you never know what you're capable of doing when your friends get hurt." I patted him on the back.

"Hehe...I guess so..."

**_*SMASH!*  
"Thou shalt be blessed further when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Magus Arcana..."_**

Cute. Now, let's-

"AAHHH!"

JESUS, Yukari, you didn't have to yell so-oh, crap.

**_"HRAGGGAAAHHHHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA!"  
_**So much for stealth.

Those are a _lot_ of Shadows.

Yukari and Junpei unsheathed their Evokers and unconsciously drew themselves to spots behind me, eyeing the Shadows which were facing them like a wolf to a rabbit. They moaned and they groaned as they crawled closer to us, black, transparent liquids leaving gross residues on the checkered floor of the first block.

Disgusting.

"There are seven of them, Yuki," Mitsuru said, over the comm. link. "Five of them are normal, blobbed Priestesses, one of them is a Tiara, and another is a blobbed Magician. Something feels...different, though..."

"And that 'something' is what, exactly, senpai?" I queried.

"The Priestess Shadows seem unusually stronger," she replied. "In fact, they seem to be too strong for you, as they are...I advise you to retreat now-"

"No."

That got me some jaws dropped.

"Dude, I-I gotta agree with senpai on this one...they look...scarier today..."

Junpei was...actually right, for a change. The Priestess Shadows, the blobbed ones, seemed to be much larger than before. Their masks, which usually took on bright pink for a color, seemed...redder. Almost blood-red. Their claws seemed to be sharper than before, and their arms, ganglier and more skeletal in structure. Their blobbed bodies also seemed to pulsate a purplish color.

The lone Tiara, which, in case I need to remind you, was also a Priestess, had spiked tentacles, as opposed to the floppy, slimy tentacles others of its species had...

And all of them were inching closer to us, one centimeter per second.

"We have to fight," I said. "Here, and now."

"But, dude-!"

"What if we end up fighting something worse than them down here?" I questioned. "If we aren't brave enough to fight off a few Priestesses that outrank and outnumber us by a measly few."

"...So, what's the plan...?" Yukari asked, breaths baited. I couldn't blame her. I was scared, too.

"Yukari, steer clear of any Priestesses trying to claw at you and beat them down with wind attacks. I'll help you with that. Junpei, since there's going to be a helluva lot of wind in your way, I think it's best if you deal with that one Magician. You make the first move; create a fireball or something to hurt them in advance, so Yukari has easier targets to mow down."

"G-got it..." Yukari trailed off.

"Alright..." Junpei said, putting his Evoker's muzzle to his temple.

"Hermes!" he yelled. The messenger of the gods burst out of Junpei's head and, with a beat of his golden, mechanical wings, created three massive balls of scorching flame, and threw them at the only Magician present at the scene, and two Priestesses.

The Magician melted spectacularly in Junpei's Persona-made inferno.

The other two Priestesses dodged them.

Wait, wha-?

*SMACK!*

GODDAMMIT WHY DO THEY ALWAYS HIT THE FACE-!

"Ugh!" I said, as I was sent to the floor by an ice attack.

"Takeba! Take care of them!" Mitsuru ordered. "Iori, stand by Yuki and defend him!"

"Y-yes!"

"Get 'em, Yuka-tan!"

"IO!"

With a literal bang, Io came right out from Yukari's skull and blasted all the blobbed Priestesses down with massive wind attacks. Unfortunately, it didn't destroy them, like we thought it would. It _did_, however, stun them.

The Priestesses were taken aback by Yukari's onslaught and dazedly melted down into a puddle. They weren't bleeding in any way, it seemed; this was just how they were when they'd be knocked out.

**_"YAARARAAGAGAGAHHH!"_**roared the Tiara, as it dodged Yukari and flew straight to Junpei.

"AAGH-!" Junpei cried, as the Tiara impaled him in the shoulder with his tentacle.

...

Oh my God, Junpei's been impaled in the shoulder. CRAP!

I quickly got to my feet, Gladius in hand, as I axed the tentacle in two, separating it from its host, but still, unfortunately, having it remain embedded within Junpei's shoulder bone.

**_"YAHAGAAAHHHH!"_**the Tiara cried as its cut-up tentacle spurt out tar onto the floor and onto my sword.

Yukari raised her bow and fired an arrow deep into the back of the Tiara's head, or, tiara, or-whatever. It actually went in far enough to the point where the arrowhead emerged right out to the front of the Tiara's mask.

**_"UWAAHAHAHAHAGAAGGAGAGGAGAHHHHH!"_**it wailed.

"Shaddup!"

Junpei suddenly burst in and impaled the Tiara right in the mask, using both hands to grip his katana's hilt as the blade cut through the mask and had its shiny steel silver color stained unceremoniously by black.

He pulled the blade out and clutched his shoulder in pain. "Damn, this hurts!"

Really should've thought of that sooner.

Another wind attack by my Pixie, and the Tiara was no more.

And, soon, there was nothing in the hallway but me, my friends, and a group of puddled blob Shadows.

"Take care of Junpei, and I'll take care of _them_..." I trailed off.

"Alright," she replied, going over to our shoulder-caressing friend.

...

I stared the masked puddles down with scornful, hateful eyes, and gritted teeth. "Look at you," I scowled. "So much for wisdom...Pixie!"

Summoning Pixie again, a horde of wind spells rained down onto the puddles, eradicating them and covering me in more gross black stuff.

Eeegh. So worth it, though.

"D-dude, you demolished them..." Junpei, whose shoulder had, thankfully, been fully healed by Yukari, was awestruck. "But, damn, I wasn't part of the action again!"

My friends have the mood swings of a pregnant woman. Well, mostly Yukari, but Junpei's writhing in pain one moment, and then all "I wanna fight!" in another moment...ugh.

"We can go up and fight more of them, you know...the stairs are right there..." I said, pointing to a nearby staircase.

"Sweet! Let's go!"

"Yuki," Mitsuru began. "I sense three Shadows on the fifth floor. They might be too much to handle for you..."

"I see no reason to continue, at least to the fourth floor. Any objections?"

"Nah. Let's keep going!"

"...Oh, what the hell. I'll come along."

"Good. Now, let's go."

* * *

_**PRESENT TIME, 43 MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR. SIXTH FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK.**_

* * *

Sigh.

How I regret ever saying that...

* * *

**_10 MINUTES EARLIER. FIFTH FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK.  
_**

* * *

"Yukari, duck!"

"WAH!"

Me and my pride. My stupid, stupid pride.

Yukari wanted to turn back after the fourth floor. I idiotically said no, because _why the hell not_?!

I get lucky with a few Shadows, good for me! I help massacre a bunch of them on the fourth floor, with little effort from an annoyed Junpei, amazing, right!? So, why the hell is this so hard, now?!

Three birds. We were fighting three massive, black-feathered, golden-masked birds, which were, according to Mitsuru, of the Empress Arcana, on the fifth floor of Tartarus, and _we're_ the ones getting massacred here!

We weren't even able to land a single blow on these damned things because they fly too high and dodge too fast for any of our attacks to connect!

"Senpai!" I yelled, trying to dodge several electric bolts fired from the birds' wings.

...Yes, the birds can fire electricity from their wings. Because the fact that they could ram into us harder than an actual battering ram wasn't hard enough. Anyway...

"Do these things have any weaknesses?!" I asked Mitsuru.

"I can't tell!"

WHAT

"They're interfering with Penthesilea's analysis skills, somehow! I can't uncover any of their weaknesses!"

"_Great_..." I mumbled.

"GAH-! Eat this, you goddamned pigeons!" Junpei yelled, as he frantically tried dodging lightning while simultaneously trying to cut down one of the birds. Sadly, like it did for the rest of us, it flew too high up for him. "Hold still, dammit!"

He tried summoning Hermes to toss fireballs at them, but they kept on dodging them like it was no big deal.

I then thought thought of a brilliant plan.

"Apsaras!"

The Servant of Heroes Fallen capitalized on the birds' business at dodging Junpei's fireballs, bursting out from my skull and using her ice skills to rain frozen hell down upon these birds. With a simple wave of her hand, the birds were absolutely encased in frosty prisons, falling to the ground as their icy entrapments broke apart at the impact, crumbling down into several cold blocks.

The birds were free, but were so cold that they were unable to do anything but watch the three of us draw closer to them. There they lay, face-down, on the cold checkered floor.

"Here's our chance! Let's get them!" Junpei yelled.

I nodded, and what came after that was the biggest smackdown of our lives.

"Lemme at 'em!" Yukari yelled.

The three of us dove in and massacred the birds, slashing and striking and piercing all the way on their feathered backs, as the cold endured by these things managed to rub off on us. The Gladius actually felt cold to the touch as I tried to ram it down the birds' bodies.

It didn't work.

None of our physical attacks did.

The feathers were as hard as metal, and as cold as steel.

"Mitsuru, what's going on here?" I asked.

"It appears their feathers are strong enough to resist your weapons..."

"Alright, then, Apsara-WAH!"

A wing rose up and smacked me upside the head, sending me down onto the floor.

The three birds rose up, having recovered from their cold ordeal. Flying overhead once again, they summoned lightning bolts upon us again. Mostly me.

"YAARRGGHHHH!" I yelled, as i was pelted by electricity and pain. My comrades were too busy dodging blasts thrown at them to be of any aid.

I noticed, as I was mercilessly being pelted by these bolts of extremely charring electricity, that the birds were flying lower than before, and were definitely slower at navigating around.

Apsaras' ice attacks did have some effect to them after all...

**_"YEARARAARRRGH!"_**one of the birds cried, as it fell to the ground unceremoniously. I looked at its unconscious body, and saw an arrow protruding from its chest. Yukari _is_ a good shot.

"Awesome, Yuka-tan!"

"Impressive, Takeba! Yuki, their abdomens are their weak points!"

Apsaras' attacks must've made their stomachs a little brittle...

Wait, so, we could've done these beasts in earlier had we stabbed their stomachs and not their backs? Damn, I am bad at this leadership thing...

The other two birds, seeing a new threat in my cardigan-wearing friend, swooped exhaustedly down to nab her in their talons.

"Oh, no, ya don't!" Junpei yelled. "Hermes!"

Junpei's winged Persona summoned two massive fireballs and hurled them straight at the charging birds, both of which expertly dodged them, and, annoyed at my capped friend's brovado, decided to attack him first.

"Gah! Get away from me!" he yelled, raising his sword in a defensive position to shield himself from the birds' claws.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried, as she ran to me.

"Bastards!"

Junpei, you have a habit of swearing whenever I get into a scrap, don't you?

...Then again, I have a habit of getting in a scrap mid-battle...

Yukari tried using Io's healing skills to repair my charred skin. "No..." I muttered. "Get the birds..."

"No, I'm healing you," she said, sternly.

Dammit, don't go all Hamuko on me, woman!

"Look," I began, my voice raspy and my breathing labored, "they're...smarter than your run-of-the-mill Shadow. They...know just...what to hit and how to hit them...they know I'm the biggest threat...and if they see you healing me, _you'll_ be the second biggest threat...I'll heal myself with Pixie. Now...help Junpei."

"...Fine," she scornfully muttered.

"Yuka-tan, I'll distract 'em! Shoot them down with your-AGH!"

Aaand Junpei was sent flying into the wall which was right across from us.

Crap, he was hit with a wind spell. So, not only do the birds have electricity at their disposal, but they can also use wind to waste us. This is officially the bestest day ever.

Thankfully, the birds looked just about ready to faint. Flying in place, their wings beat slower and slower as they tried to retreat to the darkness, away from the three of us.

Yukari wasn't going to have any of that. She dove right in front of the retreating birds and pointed her arrows defiantly at them with her bow. "Please hit!" she yelled.

She then fired two arrows at the birds, expertly shooting the weapons straight into the mongrels' chests and sending them to the floor with horrifying, bloodcurdling wails.

**_"EAAGAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_**

**_"NRAHAHAHHHHHHHGHHHH!"_**

I never thought I'd hear anything produce such a eardrum-breaking sound.

My charred skin was slowly, but surely, being repaired by the second. Pixie's a better healer than I give her credit for. Getting to my feet, I looked behind me to see Junpei staggering to his own, his katana being used as a makeshift cane as he got up.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Let's just get this over with already..." he replied, as he raised his sword and ran towards the unconscious bodies of our winged foes. "LET'S GO ALL-OUT ON THESE BASTARDS!"

Kicking the birds until they lay face-up on the floor, we pounced on our prey, hacking and slashing their bellies as black tar spilled on us. Yukari used a wind attack to propel herself up in the air, firing many arrows down onto the Shadows' stomachs relentlessly, as Junpei and I used our respective blades to cut away at their chests and limbs.

**_"NRAAHAHHAHHHHGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

**_"GRAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

CAN IT, YOU FEATHERED LITTLE-!

* * *

**_PRESENT TIME, 44 MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR. SIXTH FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK._**

* * *

Just one more floor. That's all I promised.

I just wanted to make my way up one more floor, and the moment our feet would touch ground, we'd use Traesto Gems to whisk ourselves away, back to the lobby. But nope! For some reason, Tartarus' sixth floor is pitch black, and my teammates have been somehow separated from me. God, this is terrible.

"Senpai, any signs of Yukari or Junpei?"

...No answer.

"Senpai? Senpai?!"

Great, now the comm. link is busted. What else could possibly go wrong?

**_"Greetings, Incarcerator of Death..."_**

What the hell?

"Who's there...?" I muttered, this new foe having cloaked himself in the darkness.

**_"I am known to the Ancient Ones as the Reaper..."_**

...Okay...

"Alright...show yourself, Reaper..." I goaded. I really didn't want to fight this guy. As in, _really_. But I was sure he was the guy responsible for all this darkness. If I finish him off, or at least get him to submit, I might be able to get the three of us out of this hell.

**_"Why do that? It would ruin the fun..."  
_**

"Fun? You think this crap you're putting me and my friends through is fun? What, is this some game to you, huh?"

**_"I honestly do not wish to harm your friends, Incarcerator...I only wish to harm _you_..."_**

"Why would you want to harm me? What travesty have I committed against you?" I said, in a pretentiously pompous voice. "You know, aside from slaying your brothers by the dozens."

**_"Once you die, then he shall be freed..."_**

"Who?"

_**"The Appriser...the Appriser of Death shall be freed..."**_

"Okay, you're not making any sense. I am too tired to deal with this right now. Could you get me to my friends and let us get out of here? I've seriously had enough of this-WHOA!"

***BLAM!***

_How the hell did I dodge that?!_

Sounded like it came from a gun of some kind...oh crap.

As I raised my sword, the room finally illuminated, allowing my to see my foe in the flesh.

Wearing a poorly-wrapped gray sack around its head, a shining, devilish yellow eye peeking out from a small hole punctured through the sack, it reeked of rotted flesh, smelling deader than the most dead of corpses. The Reaper wore maroon robes, chains wrapped around its torso and draped on its traps, its arms bone-thin, but longer than Junpei's katana. And _that_ was saying something.

Its arms wielded two long, massive rifles, which smelled of toxic, noxious smoke; it looked worn, tainted, as if it had been used multiple times. And it pointed one of them to me.

**_"Face me, Incarcerator..."_**

"Alright, alright..."

I was seriously scared out of my wits. But I needed to beat him. I needed to find Junpei and Yukari, and get them out of here. Beating the answers out of this guy is most likely the best way of doing so.

And so is running.

I sprinted away from the gun-toting Shadow, drawing my blade and running to the other end of the hallway.

**_"Coward!"_**the Reaper taunted, as he shot the ground below my feet, chasing after me while pointing his rifles at me.

***BLAM!***

"This is not cowardice," I retorted, as I dodged another of his blasts. "There is no shame in retreating if I have no way to fight back!"

**_"Excuses, Incarcerator! Pure excuses escape your lips! Face me! FIGHT ME!"_**

"Goddammit! JUNPEI-!"

***BLAM!***

Nearly got hit by that one.

"YUKARI!"

***BLAM!***

CRAP, MY GLADIUS!

"ANYONE!"

***BLAM!***

Man, this guy's a really bad shot-

Yukari?

There Yukari was, at the end of the hallway, unconscious, but I could tell she was still alive. Thank god-

Wait...end of the hallway...

NO-!

A dead end. This damned hallway led to a dead end! CRAP!

There were no branching pathways, no way out, no way around this...there was just me and the Reaper. Face to face. Yukari was unconscious, lying defenseless on the floor, her bow and Evoker both unbroken.

**_"HAHA! You should be grateful I purposefully let you come this far...giving you a fighting chance was the least I could do...and, after all, why not die with the one who seems to cherish you most dearly..."_**

...What?

**_"I am a Shadow, confused Fool. I am an embodiment of all hidden and concealed emotions, and she-"_**

"Just shut up..."

Lifting my now-broken sword up to face my sackheaded foe, I gave a scowling look.

"Makoto...?"

Crap, Yukari's awake.

"What's...aaaAAAGGGHHH!" she squealed, backing up against the wall. _"What is that?!"_

"I don't know..." I muttered.

**_"What is the use of fighting anymore, Incarcerator? You and your companions are dead anyway, and you know it..."_**

"If I die, it'll be on my feet...and it'll be a cold day in hell before I let you or your kind kill anyone else again!"

_**"Is that so?"**_

"Please hit..."

**_"Hmm-AAAAGGGGGHHH!"_**

Yukari routinely shot an arrow into the Reaper's yellow eye, blood-red liquid pouring down like a waterfall to a creek.

So...is this guy a Shadow or not?

**_"INSOLENT WHORE!"_**

Damn, he's pissed.

**_"YOU DARE-AAAAAGGGGHHHH!"_**

A metal blade burst out from the Reaper's chest. Red spilt out from the wound onto the floor, onto the walls, and onto me.

"Makoto, get us outta here, why don'tcha-?!"

Junpei, you're better than I give you credit for...

"TRAESTO!"

_**"COWARDS-!"**_

Aaand we're back in the lobby.

No Reaper in sight.

The three of us were exhausted, and terrified as all hell. Junpei was breathing like an asthmatic. Yukari was on the verge of tears. We left our weapons back inside. No way in hell were we going to get them back any time soon.

"What had happened up there?!" Mitsuru demanded, noticing all the red on our clothes.

"I-I don't know..." I admitted. "There was some Shadow...I think...which used massive rifles, wore maroon robes or something...it called itself the Reaper..."

"Ah...I see...very well. Akihiko, return to the lobby. They've made it out safely," Mitsuru began, over the transceiver.

"Alright. I'll see you in a second. Traesto!"

And in zero seconds flat, Akihiko was back in the lobby.

"What happened here?" he asked, seeing the three of us on the floor, horrified, sweatied, and breathing heavily.

"Just as I feared. They met up with _it_..."

"Oh..."

"You know that thing?" I scowled.

"Very little," Mitsuru replied, in a monotone voice, as Penthesilea floated overhead and proceeded to heal our wounds. "It appears at random times, on floors throughout Tartarus, but there is no indication of its arrival until it is too late. It's never been this aggressive before..."

"How do you know all this...?" I questioned.

She looked away, shame prevalent on her face.

"...Never mind," I muttered.

"Anyway," Akihiko said, clearing his throat, "it's good you made it out alright. We were worried about you."

"Thanks..." I said, weakly.

"Come on. The Dark Hour's ending soon...we need to get out of here and back to the dorm."

"...Alright."

I looked behind me, and Junpei was already asleep. Yukari, too.

This seriously sucks...

"Damn...Makoto..." Junpei muttered weakly, in his sleep.

**_*SMASH!*_**  
**_"The Magus Arcana hast been reversed!  
Until this wrong is righted, thy bond cannot progress!"  
_**

...

Seriously, screw Social Links...

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Reaper makes his first appearance!

The Priestess fight is in the next chapter!

And the story is making excellent progress so far!

...I hope...

Please review!


	22. The World's Requests

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE WORLD'S REQUESTS  
**

It's been two days since the Magus Arcana reversed.

"Junpei, want to hit the mall?" I asked my capped friend.

"..."

Nothing. He's been like this ever since that night in Tartarus.

"Junpei, come on," I said. "I said I was sorry."

"Look, man, I can forgive people over some seriously crazy shit, but, dude, our asses were on the line, last night! If you hadn't said, 'We should go up one more floor,' then we would'a been fine! That Reaper thing wouldn't have attacked us! I got nightmares for two days, because of that crap!"

"I just wanted us to get stronger..."

"Dude, I don't think risking our necks like that over and over will get us anywhere but in the ground."

Well, when you put it that way...

Sighing, my friend continued. "Look, I know what you're trying to do. I know you want us to fight Shadows and beat 'em up, but, dude, I can't stand being led by someone who puts his teammates through shit like that! Me and Yukari wanted to go down after the fifth floor, but you just _had_ to go up, didn't you?! And look where that almost got us! Killed by a freaking giant!"

"...Junpei, I-"

"Ah, forget it...I'm leaving," Junpei said, exasperatedly.

He then marched his way out the door, leaving me alone in the first floor lounge of the dorm.

He was right. I admit it, he was completely and totally right.

I was being such a slave driver.

...Wait, what _does_ happen when a Social Link reverses...?

* * *

"Ah, Master Yuki. I suppose you've arrived here to learn more about the conditions of your reversed Social Link."

After waving hello to a cheerful Elizabeth, I sat down on my lyre-shaped seat once again, Orpheus apathetically tuning his lyre as Asparas and Pixie cooed over the shine of said instrument. "Yes, so, what exactly happens when I get a reversed Social Link, Igor? You never really gave me any details on that…"

"Ah, yes…now, listen carefully…"

I nodded and crossed my legs, caressing my chin with my left hand, and cupping my left elbow with my right hand.

"Reversed Social Links will have a devastating effect on your Personas."

Crap.

"In response to your now-unstable bond, the Personas corresponding to the Arcana of your Social Link will act…rather erratically."

"Define 'erratically,'" I said.

"They could literally tear you apart."

"Mentally or physically?"

"Both are possible outcomes. As your Magus Social Link is right now, any Magus Personas you would equip to your sea of souls would cause extreme mental stress. At best, you could end up insane."

I sighed exasperatedly. "I am to expect this with every single one of my other Social Links, aren't I?"

"Yes; I'd advise you not to utilize any Magus Personas from this point on, at least until you repair your Social Link," Igor continued, "but be warned; if a Social Link remains reversed for too long, it shall become broken."

"…What happens when a Social Link breaks?"

"The bond you forged shall never be repaired, no matter how hard you try to reconnect with the person representing said bond. Personas of the corresponding Arcana will reject you, never allowing you to have them reside within your sea of souls. Worst of all is that you'd develop a weakness against foes whose Arcana correspond with the Arcana of your own broken Social Link."

Heh. Thought as much…

"…Thanks for the information," I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose tiredly.

"No problem at all. Now then, would you like to fuse some Personas together?"

"…That'd be nice, I guess…"

Come to think of it, I hadn't even fused a single Persona up till this point.

"Elizabeth," Igor commanded, "the Compendium."

Out of nothing, Elizabeth summoned a massive brown book which seemed to be as big as her abdomen. It looked as if it had aged for over a thousand years, as its pages were a dark, almost gross shade of yellow, its brown, saturated, and its edges and corners, scratched, folded, and creased. It had silver linings patterned all around it, and, strangely, although the leather structures and pages of the book seemed to be obscenely old, its silver patterns shone as brightly as a newly-polished steel wall.

"This is the Persona Compendium," Elizabeth began. "It contains the records of the Personas of all wild cards allowed to enter the Velvet Room."

"Really?" I made a small grin at the prospect.

"Yes," she replied. "Now, you can call out to a Persona you had used in fusion and have him take his place within your sea of souls once again."

"…Amazing," I muttered. "Alright, I would like to fuse Orpheus and Apsaras."

"Very well," Igor spoke.

Pulling what seems to be a bony, white phone from seemingly out of nowhere, he snaps his fingers again. Immediately, Orpheus and Apsaras had stopped whatever they were doing, looking straight at the hunchback with straight faces, and Pixie looked on in bewilderment. The two vanished, both in bright lights, nearly blinding me, and leaving only their seats behind.

From behind Igor's blue couch, two cards materialised, the one on the left, transforming into Orpheus, the one on the right, transforming Apsaras. Igor pressed his ear against the phone, and I heard faint murmurings come from the sound box.

As I was about to question just what was going on, Igor started crying.

…You read that right.

"Um…" I muttered.

"Oh, my, that is just too awful to hear…" Igor whined, tears streaming down his face endlessly as Elizabeth…started crying, too.

"Master, please…do not cry…"

This is even more confusing than anything else I've ever been through since I came back to this city, and that says so much that I think I might be getting an aneurysm right now.

Hopefully not.

The two Velvet Room occupants embraced each other in their seemingly purposeless tears, as two blue curtains from the right and left end of the elevator closed, shrouding my two Personas. A bright light emanated from behind the curtains as Igor and Elizabeth wiped their tears. The whole elevator vibrated and shook at the sheer power of the bright light; I almost fell off my seat, but Pixie, Igor, and Elizabeth somehow retained their balance.

The lights and the quakings ceased. The curtains pulled themselves back to reveal a woman with fair skin, in the place of my two Personas. Held loftily in the air by two white, beautiful wings, she was only clothed in an obsidian-colored cross outfit which covered certain parts boys shouldn't see.

"_**From this moment onward, valorous warrior, thou art I, and I am thou…"**_ the newly-forged Persona spoke. _**"Emerging from the sea of thine own soul, I present myself as Angel, the Divine Messenger of Light…"**_

Maintaining my stoic face, I grabbed the Compendium right out of Elizabeth's hands.

"Alright, now, Apsaras, Orpheus, return to the sea of my soul from the Compendium," I ordered..

And, out from the book, the Servant of Heroes Fallen and the Master of Strings emerged, proudly and magnificently making their way back to their respective seats, beside me, as Angel began taking her own seat, a golden, wired seat which seemed fit for a king, or, queen, in this case…

"Thank you for your services, Igor…" I stated.

"Please, feel free to come again when needed…"

"Will do."

* * *

Exiting the Velvet Room, I audibly sighed in frustration at the situation, sitting myself down on a nearby wooden bench by a fountain and looking up at the ceiling of Paulownia mall with glazed eyes.

"Makoto-kun?"

Hmm? Yukari?

"What are you doing here?" my cardigan-wearing friend asked.

"Nothing, I suppose…" I trailed off. Right beside Yukari was the manager of the Kendo team. What was her name, again?

"You know about him, Yukari?"

"Yeah," Yukari replied, "he's my dorm-mate, Yuko."

Oh, right. Yuko.

"Wait a minute, Yukari…" Yuko said; I couldn't hear the rest of it, since she decided to whisper all of it to Yukari, who seemed to mouth "no" at whatever she was requested to do. The two continued to banter with inaudible dialogue as I continued to stare up at the ceiling.

Within a minute, Yukari sighed, seemingly in defeat, as Yuko made a big smile, turning to me.

The two stared at me intently.

"…"

"…"

"…What is it?" I finally spoke up.

"Umm…could you do us a favour, Makoto-kun?" Yuko asked.

* * *

**_THIRTY MINUTES OF SHOPPING LATER._  
**

* * *

…I swear to God, my shoulders feel like they're going to fall off at any second now…

"How are you holding up there, Makoto-kun?" Yukari asked.

"Why did you both need to buy this much?" I asked, my shoulders aching from all the stuff I had to lug.

"Well, that's kind of confidential~" Yuko snorted.

There we were, Yuko, Yukari, and I, walking along the streets of Iwatodai, with me carrying a bunch of stuff too heavy for their own good, while Yukari and Yuko merely talking to each other, holding one bag each.

I don't even know what girls use half of this stuff for, anyway. There's something over here that looks like a metal clamp. I think it's used for the eyelashes, but then again, it has a sliding mechanism on it, and who'd want a clamp sliding up and down their eyelashes-

"How's Kendo club for you, Makoto-kun?" Yuko suddenly asked me.

"…It's...fun…"

My arms! Oh, good Lord, my arms!

"That's good. I thought it might be boring for you, I have to admit, you're actually way better at it than all the other guys on the team."

"Well, that's understandable," Yukari stated. "He's been doing Kendo for years now."

"Really?" Yuko asked. "No wonder, then. You seem like you've got your own style; you don't waste energy, unlike certain other people on the team..."

Is that so?

"If you have any questions, just ask Kaz. I'm sure he'd be willing to help you out. You can ask me, too, if you want, since I'm the team manager, and all."

"That's nice."

_***SMASH!***_

OH, GOD!

**_"Thou hast established a new bond...  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Strength Arcana..."_**

Okay, that warrior-like voice didn't exactly help lessen the volume of that irritatingly loud _smash_.

* * *

After seeing Yuko off, Yukari and I made our way back to the dorm.

"...Listen," I began, attracting Yukari's attention, "sorry about what happened two days ago, back in Tartarus...I may have put you guys through too much."

"...It's alright," she replied. "I know you were just trying to get us to make more progress, but...yeah, you did push us a little too hard..."

I sighed. "I wonder if Junpei will ever forgive me..."

"Cheer up. I'm sure he will. He forgets things easily."

"I certainly hope so."

I really do. Not just because he's a Social Link, but because he actually _is_ a pretty good friend. I'd be sad to lose him.

"Anyway, I heard exams were coming up," I said.

Yukari widened her eyes, as if shocked. "You just_ had_ to remind me..."

"S-sorry," I apologized.

"It's alright...it's not like we have a choice but to study..."

"Anyway, is it me, or does it seem like more and more people are getting afflicted with Apathy Syndrome?" I asked.

"...Yeah, now that you mention it..."

"...I think this warrants another descent into Tartarus."

"Wh-WHA?!"

Yukari's shock was understandable.

"Seeing the effect the Shadows are having on the people of the city, I think we need to get stronger at fighting them..."

Yukari's eyes were slightly downcast, showing signs of hesitance and reluctance.

"U-unless you don't want to..." I suddenly trailed off.

She sighed, "I guess you're right..."

"When do you think we should head off?" I asked.

"...How about on Golden Week?" she recommended. "Three days of nothing but relaxation. I don't think there's anything wrong with going to Tartarus then, although, I wonder how Junpei's going to take it..."

"One floor each day," I suddenly declared. "No more, no less."

"That actually sounds pretty good."

"Thanks."

* * *

_**NEXT DAY.**_

* * *

It was Showa day. There was no school. I did, however, get called up by Kenji.

Since Junpei wasn't around, and he probably wouldn't want to hang with me, I decided to go along with my cougar-chasing friend.

And guess where he took me?

"This ramen's awesome, don'tcha think?"

If you guessed the ramen place, you get the prize for the most obvious guess in the history of the world. Yippee.

"I guess," I boredly responded.

"Hey, dude," he began, "your dorm's co-ed, right?"

"Yes..."

"So, can you, like, go into Yukari-san's room, and stuff?"

"...Yes."

"No way! Really?! Dude, you're so lucky!"

So not only does he chase around older women, but he's also gullible beyond belief. I have made myself an excellent friend.

"...I was just joking," I responded.

"...Yeah, that's what I thought," he replied, going back to his ramen. He continued, "Well, I'm not that interested in girls her age anyway. I like the ones who're older than me. What about you, man?"

...Should I?

Okay, fine.

"I like them all."

And then Kenji did a humongous spit-take of soup. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice. "Really?! So, you don't discriminate, huh?" he replied, to my rather unexpected comment. "Good for you, man!"

"...Thanks," I muttered.

"...Well, to tell you the truth, I-wait, this is just between us, okay?"

"Hit me," I said.

"...I have my eye on someone. This is the 'secret plan' I was talking about, last time we talked. I'm going to ask her out. Not that that's a big deal or anything. Well, I guess it _is_ a big deal since she's a teacher at our school...I want you to be there when I ask her out. But you gotta promise you won't tell anyone, okay? If people find out they'll be all like, 'That's inappropriate' or whatever..."

"Hmm. Understandable. I won't say a word of this to anyone," I replied.

"Really? Awesome. Thanks. I knew I could count on you, Makoto."

"No problem."

_***SMASH!***_

_**"Thou shalt be blessed further when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Magician Arcana..."**_

Okay, I can't believe I'm still not used to that...

"Crap, my show's on! See ya later, dude!"

Waving goodbye to Kenji, my cell suddenly rang. Opening it, I heard the voice of the last person I ever expected to hear.

"Hello, Master Yuki?"

"Elizabeth?"

"Please come to the Velvet Room."

"What do you need?" I questioned.

"There is a matter we need to discuss. You may use the alternate entrance located in Paulownia Mall. All you must do is find the door. I'll see you soon."

"You couldn't tell me this earlier because...?"

...

...She hung up.

I gathered my things and made my way back to the Velvet Room.

"Welcome back, Master Yuki," Elizabeth greeted.

"...Where's Igor?" I asked, noting my hunchbacked friend's absence.

"I am truly sorry to bother you...but I have a big favor to ask," she said, almost hesitantly.

"Alright," I replied. "What does this favor of yours have to do with me?"

"I have been looking for someone with exceptional strength. It's been quite some time since we've had a visitor worthy of my attention. If you don't mind, will you accept my requests? Of course, a reward is expected to be given to you each time you complete a request."

"That's good enough for me," I replied, readily. "I'll finish your requests."

"Then...could I request something of you now?" she asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"...I would like to know more about your world. Please, take me to see Paulownia Mall, one of these days, after your school hours, preferably a day before May 2."

"Alright. How about...tomorrow?"

"Oh, thank you, Master! I will be anxiously awaiting your arrival till then..."

"You're welcome."

Exiting the Velvet Room, I returned to the dorm.

* * *

**_NEXT DAY._**

* * *

Today was a school day. Nothing of interest happened.

So, I decided to go to the mall and hang out with my friend from the Velvet Room.

"Shall we go?" I asked.

"Ah, I've been expecting your company. Let us be off..." she said, with her usual sweet, slightly intoxicated-sounding voice.

"Elizabeth, are you making _another_ one of our guests fulfill your requests?" Igor exasperatedly sighed, palm in face. And did he just rhyme?

"Yes, but, Master, do understand, he seems...different from all the others..."

"...Very well, but do not forget your duties here, young lady."

"Of course, Master."

The two of us exited the Velvet Room, paying no heed to the people in the mall giving us stares. I don't blame them. I'd be curious, too, if I saw a blue-haired guy suddenly emerge from a hallway with a yellow-eyed girl who's dressed in a blue bellhop outfit.

"Ahh, yes, an intimate encounter with one of your world's rarities!" Elizabeth exclaimed, upon seeing the fountain. "This must be a 'fountain.'"

"Yes, yes it is," I replied.

"It makes sport of water, well known to all to be the foundation of life..." Elizabeth continued, touching the pool of water with her gloved hand, "How wicked!"

"Well, it's not technically-"

"It's rumored that its enchanting nature grants wishes to those who sacrifice a few coins..."

"...That's a superstition," I said, trying to defuse her excitement just a little bit.

"...Is that so?" she responded. "Is it possible that the worth of the coins wasn't sufficient enough to pique the fountain spirit's interest...?"

"...There are no founta-"

"Fortunately, I anticipated this, and brought a good supply of coins...two thousand of your five hundred yen coins, to be exact."

"What?" My voice was louder than expected.

"I shall make an opening bid to the fountain spirit of one million yen!"

WHAT

"Here we are," Elizabeth stated, pulling out a bulging purse from seemingly out of nowhere and obviously not noticing my shocked, bewildered face (which, mind you, looks like my stoic face).

After Elizabeth had opened the purse with the giddy excitement of a schoolgirl, a torrent of coins rained down on the fountain's pool like a waterfall. The sound of falling coins scraping against each other and splashing down onto the water was enough to grab the attention of most of the people in the mall. Thankfully, none of them were Kurosawa.

"Ah...!" Elizabeth gasped. "I was so caught up in the excitement of tossing in coins, that I had forgotten to make a wish..."

...What...?

"This won't do," she continued, "I shall give it more consideration before returning here in the near future."

You plan to _return_?

Elizabeth, placing the bulging purse back into her...wherever she put it last time, started walking to the police station, staring intently at a few wanted posters. "Hmm...what is this facility here? There are some stern-faced gentlemen inside," she said. "And these photographs displayed so prominently...it seems whoever's photographs are printed onto these papers must be subjugated..."

"You sound like they have to be killed..." I trailed off, too unsettled by Elizabeth's sultry voice to hide my nervousness.

"Ah, so they must be captured alive..."

...What have I gotten myself into...?

We then made our way over to Club Escapade, that nightclub Junpei showed me the first time I entered this mall.

"This edifice over here..." she remarked, taking notice of the huge Escapade marquee hanging just above the door. "It can't be...is this...a 'club?!'"

"Yes," I said bluntly, "but it's closed. It only opens at nightfall."

"Oh, it can't be..." She looked crestfallen. "I had hoped to join in on the wild ritual of dancers, dictated by the sway of one's inner passions...in a subterranean of uninhibited spectacle..."

He alluring, slightly malevolent voice made things harder for me to keep my concentration...

And she started dancing, in the middle of the mall, apparently unable to be dissuaded by the fact that she couldn't dance within a club. Raising her right hand up, then, her left, then, placing both on her shoulders as she shook her hips from side to side. That was her dance. And she repeated this pattern three more times.

"Wooo..." she muttered sensually, as she continued...whatever this was.

Luckily, only few people noticed. They went back to their business immediately after Elizabeth was done dancing. If you could call it that.

"Ooh! That was quite satisfying..." she said, her desire to dance having finally been satiated. "But I'm overwhelmed...everything looks so new and inviting. Everywhere I look, something catches the eye. If you wouldn't mind, would you like to recommend our next activity...?"

I thought for a while, cupping my chin with my hand, before answering, "The arcade."

Those two words lit her face up considerably. "This 'arcade' you speak of...I've heard of it before. I recall it described as a playground as a playground where one sports with electrical fairies in exchange for tokens...I've also heard that they contain certain games to win prizes...I'm eager to see it."

"Then, shall we?"

* * *

**_THIRTY MINUTES OF GAMING LATER._**

* * *

Elizabeth tried every single game out there. I swear, my eyes have yet to recover from all the lights...

"Ah, that was such fun!" she exclaimed, having had her fill of pixels and polygons beating each other up for power-ups and princesses...

"Glad you had fun," I said, robotically, while rubbing my grey eyes.

"Oh, would you mind waiting here, for a moment?" she asked, turning to me. "I didn't know there was a fountain on this side as well..."

Oh no.

I made a motion to stop her, but she ran too fast, and my eyes were to shot to even see where I was going. Luckily, I managed to stagger my way over to a bench nearby the fountain.

And I stayed there for what felt like thirty minutes while Elizabeth ran around doing whatever bellhop girls who live in elevators do when stuck in a mall too big for its own good.

"Makoto?"

Hm? Junpei?

"What're you doing here?" he questioned, in a slightly caring tone of voice.

"...Just hanging around."

"...Cool," he replied. "Say, uh, c-can I sit here?"

"...Sure," I said, my voice sounding as if I had just asked a question instead of making a declarative statement.

"Alright."

We both sat there, in our awkward silence.

I decided to speak up.

"...Look, again, I'm sorry over what happened in Tartarus a few days back." Junpei jolted at the sudden sound of my voice piercing through the silence. I continued with "You were right, okay? I _was_ being completely unfair, pushing you and Yukari so much when you had just awakened to your Personas so suddenly. It's all my fault, and I'm sorry."

"...Well, that saved me the trouble of apologizing."

Wait, what?

Junpei sighed, "I was about to say sorry for being such a douchebag. I knew you were just trying to get us higher and higher up the tower, you know, to get us stronger, but I was just angry and pissed at the fact that I did nothing much that night...except get my ass handed to me. So...sorry, man."

"What do you mean, 'you did nothing that night except get your ass handed to you?'" I questioned.

"Well, whenever we got into a scrap, you and Yukari'd always be on the front lines, duking it out with the Shadows, and I'd always get knocked out, or thrown to the side, or whatever..."

"Junpei, _do you remember what you did to the Reaper_?" I asked, my voice firm.

"...Well, yeah, but..."

"You were the guy who impaled him through the back of the chest, not me," I said. "You were the one who was actually able to get up close and personal with the thing. My sword was busted, my Evoker was missing, Yukari only hit the eye of the monster, but you...I don't think I'd ever be able to pull something like that off, under those circumstances."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'd probably screw up. I'd probably get so angry at the sight of seeing my friend getting trapped by a Shadow that can shoot guns that I wouldn't be able to think straight. But you could think of such an ingenious maneuver under the pressure. I couldn't do that. Not in a million years."

"Dude, you're way better than me at this shit...I don't even know what I'm good for, except for fighting..."

"Junpei, if we knew each other under different circumstances, I'd still consider you one of the bravest guys I've ever known," I gallantly said.

A brief pause followed, before I ended my speech with this: "At least until Yukari ends up beating you down."

"S-shut up!" Junpei said, chuckling.

"...Feels weird, two people apologizing to each other at the same time, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. So, we cool?"

"Yeah. We're cool."

_***SMASH!***_

_**"Thou hast placed the Magus Arcana onto the proper pathway...  
Thy bond hast been healed, and has strengthened further by this healing...  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Magus Arcana..."**_

Awesome.

"Anyway, wanna hit the arcade, dude?" Junpei suddenly asked.

Memories of epilepsy-inducing lights come rushing back to me like a punch in the face.

"...I'd rather not, right now," I muttered wearily.

"Alright, then. I'll see ya back at the dorm."

"You do that..."

Junpei left me there, on that wooden bench, as I continued staring at the ceiling dazedly, waiting for Elizabeth.

* * *

"Oh, are you feeling unwell?"

Hey, there's that yellow-eyed bellhop of mine, looking at me and noticing my exhaustion at today's events.

"Elizabeth," I began, "where were you the whole time I was here?"

"I had explored this mall and discovered that this place was host to a trinity of fountain spirits! So, I had poured all the yen in this wallet into all the fountains I could find!"

...Of course.

As I got up from my seat, she continued speaking to me.

"Thank you for the invaluable experiences you have given me today..." she trailed off. "I consider this mission fully accomplished. This may sound forward, but...I would like to accompany you again, sometime. Here," she handed me a small cheongsam, "is your reward. This allows you to fuse the Persona Hua Po, of the Magician Arcana. She is a charming Persona, combining the looks of a sweet girl with powerful abilities."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I said.

Elizabeth then reentered the blue hallway and returned to the Velvet Room, vanishing in a bright turquoise light.

Okay, I admit, today was actually pretty fun, disregarding the fact that my eyes had been damaged by bright arcade lights for half of it...

Still, Elizabeth is actually rather enjoyable to hang out with.

I'll be looking forward to-

**_SMASH_**

OW, OW, OW, OW, OW, OW

**_THOU HAST ESTABLISHED A NEW BOND...  
THOU SHALT BE BLESSED WHEN THOU CHOOSETH TO IMBUE THYSELF WITH THE POWER OF THE WORLD ARCANA..._**

DAMN, THAT'S LOUD!

That booming female voice isn't helping with the fact that MY EYES NOW HURT LIKE HELL AGAIN! Damn, _my whole head_ hurts from that!

...Oh, well...at least I got the greatest Arcana of all.

The World Arcana.

This oughta be fun...I hope...

Right now, I gotta get aspirin...

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_

* * *

Before anyone asks, I preferred the way Personas were fused in the original Persona games, so, I decided to stick with that, instead of having Igor wave one of his arms and magically generate two Persona cards, thrusting them up in the air with some magical Spellbinding Circle-thing as they merged anti-climactically to form a new Persona.

Elizabeth is now a Social Link. Hey, if Margaret could be an Empress, why not Elizabeth be the World?

Also, I KNOW I PROMISED THE PRIESTESS BATTLE WOULD BE THIS CHAPTER, BUT COME ON, I HAD TO FOLLOW MY PATTERN, HERE! PROMISE, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE ACTUAL FIGHT!

Please review…why do I have only 11 reviews for 21 chapters at the moment, while other stories have but four chapters, yet have like, 99 reviews? (For the story in question, check out _My Android Can't Be This Cute!_ by Lesser Ninja. It's awesome, especially if you love Aigis.)

* * *

_**MAKOTO YUKI'S PERSONA LIST:**_

* * *

Orpheus  
SKILLS: Bash

Pixie  
SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru

Apsaras  
SKILLS: Bufu, Posumundi

Angel  
SKILLS: Hama, Patra, Sukukaja

* * *

_**MAKOTO YUKI'S SOCIAL LINKS:**_

* * *

Magus  
RANK: 2

Magician  
RANK: 2

Emperor  
RANK: 1

Hierophant  
RANK: 1

Chariot  
RANK: 1

Justice  
RANK: 1

Strength  
RANK: 1

Tower  
RANK: 1

World  
RANK: 2 (Increases twice as fast)


	23. Towers and Hierophants

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: TOWERS AND HIEROPHANTS  
**

It was May 1, two days after my little touring of the mall with Elizabeth. However, it was Saturday, so, there was still classes I had to attend.

Upon the end of the day, I decided to snooze off for a little while on my desk.

"Dude, Akihiko-senpai is getting a checkup," Junpei began, stirring me from my slumber. "He called me over and asked me to bring 'im something. Yep, he knows who to count on…" A big smile grew on his face, one of assurance and self-confidence.

I remained static as a rock and immediately started setting my head back down on my desk. That was, at least, until the voice of a cardigan-wearing archer startled me from my second attempt at a good afternoon nap.

"He only asked you 'cause you had nothing better to do."

Damn, Yukari. That's harsh.

"H-hey, I resent that…" Junpei clumsily countered, his pride having been severely wounded.

Yukari giggled, and then continued with "I'm just kidding. So, what'd he want you to bring?"

"The class roster for 2-E," Junpei replied.

"What's he want that for?" Yukari asked. "…Well, I don't have practice today, and Tomoya-senpai called yoga class off today, so I guess I'll go with you. Makoto, are you coming with?"

SLEEP. I JUST WANT SLEEP, BUT "Yeah, sure, I'll go."

"He asked _me_, you know," Junpei said, irately.

"Well, if it's so important, we should all go together," Yukari replied, hands on hips.

"Yeah, but…"

I didn't hear the rest of what Junpei said. Too drowsy to make sense of it.

The three of us then exited our school and, still dressed in our respective uniforms, made our way over to the hospital were Akihiko was getting checked up on.

* * *

_**THIRTY MINUTES LATER.**_

* * *

We finally found Akihiko's room. We entered, and instead of seeing our gray-haired senpai, we saw a shifty-looking guy wearing a maroon peacoat, a black beanie, black pants, and pointed, brown shoes; he was sitting on a petit wooden chair and gave a grunt at the sight of us.

He had long, shaggy, brown hair, most of which flowed out from under his beanie, grey eyes, the skin under them being wrinkled by what seemed to be excessive scowling, and a seemingly permanent frown marring his face.

I doubt we would get along.

"Um…" Junpei began, trying to strike up a conversation with the tough-looking stranger. "Is Akihiko-senpai…in this room? By any chance?"

"What're all you guys doing here?" Akihiko, who had just arrived in the room, queried.

"We came to see you," Yukari said.

"Is that it, Aki?" the visitor spoke up.

"Yeah, thanks," Akihiko replied, the small smile now stretching across his face greatly contrasting with the mood-breaking growl of the visitor.

"Tch…I don't have time for this shit…" the visitor uttered, turning his head away from us.

Well, _someone's_ trying to be a badass.

Getting up from his seat, he turned to me as he began to walk straight to the door. "You…" he began, facing me with a half-glare. "Never mind…"

Huh?

…Well, that was awkward. Now, then-

_***SMASH!***_

OW, wha- I didn't even talk to the guy!

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…  
Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the High Priest Arcana…"**_

High Priest…?

"Wh-who was that?" Junpei stuttered, seeing the guy off as he left.

"A friend from school... sort of," Akihiko replied, following Junpei's gaze. "You know how the number of Apathy Syndrome cases has been increasing? Well, he knows a few people who are suffering from it, so I was asking him about it. Hey, Junpei, did you bring what I asked?"

"Of course, senpai." Junpei said, gallantly.

Akihiko nodded, and decided to test his newly cared-for arm with a punch to the air.

"Uh, I don't think you should move your arm, senpai…" Junpei said, concernedly.

"I've already wasted enough time. I need to get back to my training, ASAP," Akihiko replied, bluntly, his face going deadpan once again.

"Yeah! Gekkoukan's golden boy! He was born to be in the ring!" Junpei commended.

"…Sometimes, I really don't get you."

Likewise, Akihiko. Not that I'd ever say it out loud, but…

"By the way, senpai, why boxing?" Yukari asked.

"You mean, why did I choose that sport?"

_No_, she doesn't mean that. _Of course not_.

…Man, what is up with me and these snarky remarks, as of late?

Okay, setting aside my bout of unexpected cynicism, Akihiko replied to Yukari, "Well... It's not the sport itself I like; I just wanted to learn how to fight. I know what it's like to feel powerless... and I don't want to feel that way again. Besides, I'm curious to see how strong I can get. It's like a game, only I'm competing against myself."

Hmm. That's interesting-

_***SMASH!***_

GODDAMMIT, OW!

"_**Thou hast established a new bond…"**_

This again? I didn't even open my mouth!

"_**Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Star Arcana…"**_

…Okay, new Social Links are always acceptable, but come on! At least let me get to actually interact with the guy before causing glass to shatter inside my brain!**_  
_**

* * *

**_TWO HOURS LATER, 7:00 PM.  
_**

* * *

Seeing as how I had nothing better to do, I decided to go to a delightful little restaurant stationed at the strip mall, called Wild-Duck Burger. Sitting down onto the counter, I had ordered a small-sized burger to at least get me some energy through the evening.

I am _not_ eating anything back at the dorm. There's only so much instant ramen one can take in three weeks...

"Yo, Makoto!"

I turned my head to see the captain of the baseball team, Satoshi, coming over to the seat to my right. He was wearing a simple black shirt, blue jeans, dirty, scruffy sandals worn on his feet, and white bandages wrapped around his wrists.

"What'cha doing here?" he asked, sitting down right next to me.

"Just eating," I replied, still waiting for my burger. "You?"

"Same, but I also needed to get some ingredients for my parents. They run a restaurant downtown near the cinema. It's making pretty good business."

"Really?" I asked. "Name?"

"...It's too embarrassing..." he trailed off, looking away from me. I could tell he was blushing, albeit slightly.

"C'mon," I urged.

"...The-"

"Stop, burger's ready," I, quite rudely, interrupted.

My burger was plopped down right in front of me. It looked sumptuous, but it was...smaller than I had expected. My fist was huger than it.

"Do you normally eat things that small for dinner?" Satoshi scoffed.

"Well, no, but, hey, first time for everything..."

I munched down on my burger. Yes, it was small, but it tasted _good_.

"I wish I wasn't so picky about food all the time..." Satoshi mused.

"Then try to eat different foods," I replied, simply stating the solution.

"Yeah, but I have to keep my strength up, if I want to be a baseball player in the future..." he trailed off, with a slightly shaky voice.

He's just like Junpei. Heh. "So, why are there bandages around your wrists?" I asked, out of the blue, with bored eyes and a robotic voice.

Satoshi immediately jolted at the mention of those bandages. "U-uh...I...well...it's also for training...heh heh...you know, club stuff, you wouldn't understand..."

He makes it sound like he's trying to hide something...

...

...Does Satoshi...?

"A-anyway," he began, breaking me out of my momentary shock, "it's been, what, four, five weeks since you came here? How's Gekkou High been treating you?"

"To be honest, everyone's actually pretty nice to me," I answered. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

"Good. If anything wrong comes up, I'm your guy to call," Satoshi said. "After all, I was the new kid last year, and it would suck when I got into some crazy shit and no one would help...so, I'm willing to be there for ya, dude. Count on it."

"Thanks."

"Also, if you happen to be in the area, check out my family's restaurant. It's called..."

He seemed hesistant to say it. I stared at him intently to make it apparent that I was awaiting a response.

"...The Iron Lung."

...

"...Okay, that's hilarious..." I chuckled, desperately trying to stifle my laughter.

"Ugh...just come over sometime, will ya?"

"Will do."

"Awesome."

**_*SMASH!*_**

_**"Thou shalt be blessed further when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Tower Arcana..."**_

Well...at least I get more progress.

The two of us left the strip mall, me, with a partially filled belly, and Satoshi, with a belly so huge I bet you it could be popped open with a mere needle, like a balloon filled with meat.

"See you later," I said, making my way back to the dorm.

"You bastard."

Huh?

He brushed past me, marching over to...Tomoya? Where'd he come from?

Anyway, staring Tomoya down, Satoshi's face turned from its usual cheerful and witty demeanor into a bitter, angry one. Tomoya could only step backwards from the stomping baseball upstart, but he did so with an equally bitter demeanor which contrasted from his usual timidity.

I smell me a rivalry.

"You got some nerve showing up here, shithead..." Satoshi snarled.

"...I live here, Satoshi. I'd assumed you would've known that by now..." Tomoya retorted smugly.

"Shut the hell up, you little -"

"Tomoya-senpai, Satoshi, what's going on?" I questioned, with a firm voice, drawing the two's attention.

"No offense, Makoto, but it's none of your business," Tomoya answered, with an unexpected show of disrespect to his kohai.

"You know this guy, Makoto?" Satoshi growled.

"Yes, Satoshi, he knows me! What's wrong with that?"

"Will you please-?"

"I just want to prevent any blood from being spilt," I interrupted, trying to defuse the clashings between my senpai for what seemed to be no reason at all, as I separated the two from each other by placing myself inbetween them.

...Now that I've actually done it, it feels like I'm a giant wall separating an unstoppable force from an immovable object.

"He drew first blood," Satoshi growled, with fury prevalent all over his face, as he brushed off my hand.

"Want me to draw out more?" Tomoya snorted.

Satoshi then pushed me aside. Oh, man, this is bad. Now, he's grabbing Tomoya by the collar, proclaiming, "Alright, then, you seriously wanna take me on?! Even after what I put you through back then?!"

"If you want to get humiliated, then yeah! Fight me! I've gotten stronger since then, you bitch!" Whoa, Tomoya, I never saw you as the snarky type. The passive-aggressive type, yes, but this...

"Stronger doing what, stretching with your legs up over your goddamn head?!"

Crap, I gotta do something-

"That's quite enough, Satoshi-kun and Tomoya-kun."

Huh? Hidetoshi?

My Student Council Social Link was wearing a dull, grey shirt which had long sleeves. I would say the grey on his shirt matched the grey on his hair, but his shirt was much darker than the latter. He wore black skinny jeans and white shoes.

"What're you doing here, Hide?" Satoshi questioned, breaking his arms away from Tomoya, who scowled mockingly at the much taller and buffer baseball captain.

"Groceries," he replied, sternly, grasping a plastic bag he was carrying in his right hand tightly. He then took a glance at me, saying, "Thank you, Makoto, for wisely choosing to try and defuse the tension between these two..."

"What's going on, anyway?" I asked, slightly irked at the amount of information I was _not_ getting. "Why are they at each other's throats like this?"

"They've been rivals since 8th grade...now, Satoshi, don't you remember the principal's reprimandings? If you'd ever pull off something like what had happened back then...expulsion's all you'll get." I could tell Hidetoshi tried to sound as professional and strict as humanly possible, but something in his voice told me he felt a little tense at what he had just said.

Satoshi audibly gulped at the Student Council member's words, then looked away, ashamed.

"Guh..." he breathed out. "A-alright, just please, don't...don't report me...please, Hide..."

Hidetoshi couldn't help but show a pitied face at Satoshi's pleadings, before sighing. "I wasn't even planning on doing so in the first place, Satoshi-kun..."

Satoshi's face brightened up considerably. "T-thanks a lot, Hide!"

"But," Hidetoshi continued, his previously softened voice going all serious on us again, "I cannot allow another discrepancy like this to occur. If I see this happen between the two of you again...I'm sorry, but you know what I'll have to do."

"...Fine...thanks again..." Satoshi meekly replied.

Tomoya crossed his arms and turned away from us, moving towards the bookstore.

The former then marched over between me and my gray-haired senpai, taking a glance at me for a little bit and mouthing "sorry," before continuing on his way.

"Now, Makoto, I have to admit, that was fairly professional of you," Hidetoshi said, appraising me. "You're better than I give you credit for..."

"I was just trying to stop something bad from getting worse," I replied. "It's nothing."

"Hmph," Hidetoshi snorted, smiling. "Don't be like that. Who knows what your deeds would build up to, in the end? Don't take doing the right thing for granted. Take pride in helping others."

"...Good advice."

**_*SMASH!*_**

**_"Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Emperor Arcana..."_**

I saw Hidetoshi off, as Tomoya started walking into the bookstore.

"Tomoya-senpai," I called. He jolted. "What's going on between you and Satoshi?"

"...I'm sorry for showing you that..." he said, shuddering slightly, before turning to me with a light smile dressing his face. "I-I guess I should've been more self-controlled..."

"You didn't answer my question," I continued. "I forgive you for that little show of brovado earlier, but I want to know, what's wrong between you and him?"

"...That's kind of personal," Tomoya replied, reverting back into a foul mood. "Why would you want to waste your time with something you probably won't be able to change...?"

I hated it whenever something like this happens, because I always give the same answer.

"Because the both of you are my friends," I retorted. "If this ends up going somewhere horrible, I'll end up feeling partially responsible, because, as your friend, I did little to nothing to prevent it."

Tomoya's head then turned to me, his scowl drooping into a worrisome look. I maintained my stoic disposition, but raised an eyebrow to signify that I was awaiting a response. It was five seconds before I got one. Five seconds before he finally broke out of his concerned expression and dressed his lips with a slight smile.

"...I didn't think of it that way..." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "You're right. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Let's meet up back here."

"Why tomorrow?" I queried.

"I have to sleep right now," he replied. "It's past my curfew."

"...But you're going into a bookstore."

"I live here. My grandparents run this place."

Oh.

"Well...okay."

* * *

_**NEXT DAY.  
**_

* * *

It's Sunday, and I am busy talking to a miniature, yet older version of me (in my opinion; it's the hair), on a bench in front of the Strip Mall, about why he and the captain of the baseball team are at each other's necks. The answer was _not_ what I expected.

"I used to be kind of a punk..."

That was the last thing I ever expected to hear from Tomoya Kitamura.

I'd heard more about him in the past few days. Apparently, from people I've eavesdropped on, he's a fairly studious guy who gets high marks in nearly every quiz. He has a small, but strong group of friends, and because his calmness in certain situations, he was personally selected by the principal to be the instructor for the yoga club.

This is something new.

"A punk. You."

I repeated him, in disbelief.

"W-well," he stammered, "yes, I used to be one."

...He's not lying.

You don't lie about being a punk. Not in Iwatodai. Punks and gangs are considered to be the lowest of the low in this place, second only to the Shadows (not that the city knows of the latter's existence). If you even so much as make the implication that you're a punk, the interrogation room's never more than a few minutes away. Even saying that you'd _used_ to be a punk would be a disgraceful move.

Tomoya's not lying.

Time to say the only thing on my mind.

"...Why?" I questioned.

"I was just lashing out at the time..." he replied, his face turning sour. "I was angry at the world. Too angry. I couldn't express my anger to my grandparents; they're too old for that kind of thing, so I had to vent. I bullied people, stole from people, the works."

"Just what happened to you that made you that way?" I questioned.

His sour face then turned into one of sadness.

One of mourning.

"Okay, never mind that..." I said, noting the melancholy on his face.

"...Thanks," he replied. "I don't think I could say something _that_ personal to someone I'd just met..."

"So, what does this have to do with Satoshi?" I continued.

"We used to be best friends," he replied. "I always ate at his parents' restaurant, he always bought his books from my grandparents' bookstore, but then..."

"But then...?"

"...I insulted his father."

...

"Why would you insult his dad?"

"...Well," he sighed, embarrassed and somewhat ashamed, "his dad had the tendency to be a little...eccentric. He would always look off in the distance, murmuring some random things...I thought it was hilarious when he'd do that, but I never would say it."

...Okay...

"But, then...I turned into a punk...I got angry at the world, I hated it. So much. Satoshi tried to snap me out of it...and I got so pissed. I was pissed, because I heard the same things from him that I heard from everyone else: 'Do you think...'" he looked away, covering his eyes.

"What...?" I asked, trying to prompt him to continue.

"'Do you think your dad would want to see you moping like this?'"

Oh my God.

Wiping a small tear, he moaned, "I'm sorry...I just..."

"It's okay, senpai...it's alright..." I assured him.

Goddammit.

"I was so pissed off!" he continued, raising his voice to near-shouting levels. "I just wanted to move on! He...he'd want me to do that, wouldn't he?! He always told me, 'If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!' I wanted to do it on my own...but everyone keeps on reminding me that he died! I _can't_ move on!"

"T-Tomoya-senpai..."

"A-and he...he got MAD AT ME!" he screamed, getting up from the bench. "HE GOT MAD AT ME FOR INSULTING _HIS_ DAD, BUT WAS COMPLETELY OKAY WITH USING _MY_ DAD'S MEMORY LIKE THAT?! I TOLD HIM SPECIFICALLY THAT I WANTED TO BE LEFT ALONE, AND HE GOES OFF AND DOES THAT! HE HAS _NO RIGHT_ TO BE ANGRY AT ME! NO GODDAMNED RIGHT-!"

"Tomoya-senpai," I said, my voice demanding order. "I understand what you're feeling...I really do...but Satoshi was just trying to help you. I know he was."

"The bastard still went that low. I can't forgive him for that..."

"He went low for _you_. Because you're his friend. Don't you think he'd know he'd piss you off by going that far? He knew he had to do that because there was no other alternative to get to you, understand?"

A guttural, growling noise came from him as he scowled at me.

"Listen," I continued, risking a reversed, possibly, even a broken Link. He needed this. "I know that it's a horrible experience to go through when you lose someone you've loved. I've...I've been there. But there's no reason to lash out against your friends like that. They love you, too, don't they? Shouldn't they? You can't blame them when they do things you don't want to snap you out of your pain. That means that they care about you. They know the risks of doing so. The risks of using someone's memory like that, to snap you out of it. But they're willing to take it...because they care about you."

Five seconds.

He unballed his fists, then sat back down onto the bench.

"I...I'm sorry, I...I just...oh, my God...I..."

"It's alright, senpai. Just let it all out...you need this..."

"...No...I...I'm done crying," he said, his formerly broken voice now returning to form. "I promised him I wouldn't..."

"...Are you sure?"

Of course he's not.

"Yes."

No.

"Th...thanks for that, Makoto...I needed that...oh, God, now I feel ashamed..."

No reason why he shouldn't.

"You don't have to thank me," I replied.

"No. I do," he replied. "You know...we should hang out more often. You're an awesome guy to be around."

"Sure," I said.

**_*SMASH!*_**

**_"Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the Hierophant Arcana..."_**

"Although..." Tomoya trailed off. "I don't think Satoshi would forgive me after all these years..."

"I'll try to get him to. Don't worry."

* * *

_**LATER THAT DAY, DARK HOUR.**_

* * *

"Hi. How've you been?"

…It's the prisoner kid again.

I was sleeping in bed, ready for a new day, for Golden Week, and, out of nowhere, he popped up in my bedroom for no reason, jolting me from my rest. During the Dark Hour.

Alright, fine…looks like I'll have to make do with this…

"How did you get in?" I asked, sitting up on my bed to face the boy, who stared at me with a smile on his face and his usual grey, corpse-like eyes. Upon hearing my slightly harsh words, though, the boy's smile soured itself into a pout.

"What kind of a welcome is that?" he asked, sounding almost disgraced. "Besides, I'm always with you…"

…_That's_ reassuring.

"One week from now, there'll be a full moon… Be careful. You'll face another ordeal," the kid said, ominously.

"…What kind of ordeal?" I asked, getting off my bed to actually stand and face the prepubescent ghost.

"You'll encounter one of _them_," the boy replied, bluntly, yet, maintaining a somewhat casual tone of voice.

"What do you mean by _them_?" I questioned, making my way closer to the boy, making several mental notes to not do anything drastic or hostile.

"You must prepare for the ordeal. Time is of the essence…but I'm sure you're aware of that."

"You didn't answer my-"

Wait…where'd he go…? He was right in front of me just a few-

"I'll come and see you again, when it's over."

I turned to find the kid sitting cross-legged on my bed. He waved.

"Goodbye, for now."

The whole room then went dark, the green surrounding the room, reflected from the Dark Hour's emerald skies, turned to black, then returned to green after about four seconds.

The boy was nowhere to be seen.

...

I think this warrants some preparations.

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_**

* * *

More on the OCs! Yes, I felt they needed more exposure.

In the case you need more description on Satoshi's appearance, imagine a black-haired Kouichi Sakakibara, from _Another_.

For Tomoya's appearance, imagine Jun Kanzato, from _Persona -trinity soul-_, except with blue hair, baggy grey pants, and, oftentimes, a sleeveless black shirt, along with a white bracelet on his right wrist.

I kept Akihiko as the Star Arcana Social Link, seeing as how there were no other aliases for the Emperor Arcana, and I made Shinjiro, instead of the Moon S-Link (that's saved for a certain obese cult member), the High Priest Social Link, because the High Priest is an alias for the Hierophant, which is Shinjiro's primary Arcana.

And SORRY AGAIN THE PRIESTESS BATTLE WILL BE NEXT CHAPTER I GUARANTEE IT BUT I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT THIS CHAPTER WAS TOO HUGE FOR ITS OWN GOOD PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In punishment for my continuous delaying of the next Full Moon battle, I shall make the full moon battle way more epic than intended or expected, as a sort of payoff for all the waiting. Please be patient with me.

* * *

_**MAKOTO YUKI'S PERSONA LIST:**_

* * *

Orpheus  
SKILLS: Bash

Pixie  
SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru

Apsaras  
SKILLS: Bufu, Posumundi

Angel  
SKILLS: Hama, Patra, Sukukaja

* * *

_**MAKOTO YUKI'S SOCIAL LINKS:**_

* * *

Magus  
RANK: 2

Magician  
RANK: 2

Emperor  
RANK: 2

High Priest  
RANK: 1

Hierophant  
RANK: 2

Chariot  
RANK: 1

Justice  
RANK: 1

Strength  
RANK: 1

Tower  
RANK: 2

Star  
RANK: 1

World  
RANK: 2 (Increases twice as fast)


	24. Arcana Priestess, or, Prep Week

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: ARCANA PRIESTESS, or, PREP WEEK  
**

* * *

_**MONDAY, FIRST DAY OF GOLDEN WEEK.**_

* * *

"Kurosawa-san, I need your best weapons."

I was at the police station in Paulownia Mall, buying weapons to prepare for whatever type of "ordeal" that kid told me I would face.

My Gladius was ruined unceremoniously by the Reaper, Junpei's katana and Yukari's bow were left back in Tartarus, and, judging from its ever-changing structure, it's highly unlikely we'd ever get them back. The only alternative would be to get new weapons.

Thankfully, I managed to snatch some cash from Ikutsuki's wallet, ten thousand yen, to be precise (not that he'd need them anyway), to get the best equipment possible.

"What happened to your other weapons?" he gruffly asked, crossing his arms.

"They were destroyed."

"…Hmph," he grunted. "Take whatever you need. Here are the most recent weapons we got. I think they'll do you good."

I ended up with a fairly good saber as my replacement for the Gladius. I got Yukari a bow called the Siren's Song. It was small, measuring from my hand to my upper arm in its height, but Kurosawa called it a bow strong enough to send an arrow through three trees.

I got Junpei another greatsword. Kurosawa said its donator didn't bother to give it a name. So _I_ did. The Bastard Sword seems fitting for someone of Junpei's caliber.

What really got to me was the fact that they still didn't allow me to purchase guns. Bah. Didn't matter.

* * *

_**LATER THAT DAY, DARK HOUR; SEVENTH FLOOR OF TARTARUS, FIRST BLOCK.**_

* * *

"Run!" I ordered, dodging an ice block thrown by a Priestess nearby. I switched to Pixie, then yelled, "Garu!" as a wind spell sent that same Priestess flying back into the darkness.

In its place were two Tiaras, which looked deadlier than before, similarly to how they looked back in our third descent, but even more so. Their namesakes, the tiaras on their heads, were now spiked, along with their tentacles. The monsters themselves now had blood-red skin, and black tar seemed to seep right out of the eyeholes on their masks. The masks themselves were now a deep maroon instead of the bright purple I was so used to seeing.

Yukari trembled at the sight of them.

"GAaAaaaAH!"

Junpei, wha-? Oh my…

"The damn thing froze my ass!" he cried, in half-disbelief and half-anger, as he wobbled over to me, his frozen posterior restricting his lower body movements to a hilarious degree.

"Use Hermes to defrost it when we get somewhere safe! NOW, GO! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Yukari cried out, shooting down more Priestesses with her bow.

"B-but my-!"

"There! A stairway!" I said.

"D-dude…my ass is getting cold…" Junpei whined, following me with hopping motions.

"Then heat it up," I casually replied, running towards the stairs.

"But my pants-!"

"GO!" Yukari exasperatedly yelled, her voice cracking in fear.

* * *

We made it up the staircase, onto the next floor, and we silently thanked whatever's holy that the Shadows, for some reason, did not follow us.

Okay...how many floors did we go up again...?

"Yuki, are you, Takeba, and Iori alright?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yes, senpai," I replied, panting. "We're fine."

By 'fine,' I meant 'exhausted, scared, and pissing ourselves,' but you get the point. Oh, and Junpei's ass is still frozen. I found it hilarious that he was too tired to defrost it.

Mitsuru continued with "You've made it up two floors this time."

"...We ran up two floors?"

Huh. So running wildly in a desperate search for the staircase while hacking, slashing, and shooting in our general directions _was_ a good strategy after all.

* * *

_**TUESDAY, SECOND DAY OF GOLDEN WEEK.**_

* * *

"_**You're me, and I'm you, hee-ho!" **_the petit Persona snickered. _**"Coming from the sea of yer soul, I'm Pyro Jack, the Trickster of Devils!"**_

Pyro Jack was an odd Persona. He had a pumpkin in place of his head, had no body to speak of, save for a single gloved hand which tightly wrapped itself around a lit lantern, wore a purple cape fit for a manga villain, and a purple, pointed wizard's hat perched cutely atop his head.

And all I had to do was fuse Apsaras, Orpheus, and Angel to get him.

"Alright," I said, Compendium in hands, "Apsaras, Orpheus, Angel, return to the sea of my soul."

Out from the old brown book, my three faithful Personas returned to their respective seats beside me. Pyro Jack plopped himself down onto something that looked like a wooden footstool. Strangely, it didn't burn in the least.

"Would you like to fuse another Persona, Master Yuki?" Igor asked, wiping his eyes with (of course) a blue napkin.

I looked at the small cheongsam Elizabeth had given me on our date (the word was used sparingly) in Paulownia Mall.

One fusion between Apsaras and Pyro Jack later, with the cheongsam thrown in...and boom:

**_"Hi there! You're me, and I'm you!"_**It seemed my new Persona couldn't speak, only using telepathy to communicate. However, since, well, the Velvet Room takes place somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness (I think), her beautiful voice resonated throughout the elevator. Pyro Jack looked aroused upon hearing it. Eeegh. **_"I'm from the sea of your soul. My name is Hua Po, Tree Spirit of the Hanged!"_**

* * *

**_LATER THAT DAY, DARK HOUR; EIGHTH FLOOR OF TARTARUS, FIRST BLOCK._**

* * *

"HUA PO!"

My new Persona burst out of my head. True to Elizabeth's words, she did resemble a young, teenaged girl, albeit with red skin, completely blue eyes, pixie wings, a white chinese dress, no pants (for all you sick-minded people, no, I don't check to see if she has underwear), and bright yellow pigtails which greatly contrasted with her brown hair.

And she kicked ass!

"Maragi!"

And in little more than a second, Hua Po massacred a heavy number of Magician blobs, all of whom wailed in rapid succession as they burnt to death at the hands of my fiery companion.

But, then again, it couldn't have been done anyway if not for Pyro Jack. He's got this skill, which, I think, is called Sukunda. It slows down the enemy, dizzies them, allowing for more openings to attack them.

With these two, I've been cutting down Shadows left and right, nothing in my way, nothing stopping me. I feel like I'm on top of the world.

"C'mon, man! Lemme get some of the action, here!" Junpei whined.

"There's some action right behind you," I replied.

"J-Junpei!" Yukari yelled, staring at our capped friend with widened eyes as she shot down a Magician.

"Huh-? WAAHAHH! Geddoff me!"

Sudden Priestess attacks are so hilarious.

Wait, a minute, CRAP!

* * *

_**TENTH FLOOR, FIRST BLOCK.**_

* * *

We get lucky on the ninth floor and THIS BULLSHIT HAPPENS ON THE TENTH!

"GAAH!"

"WAAHH!"

But hey, at least it wasn't my fault this time. Yukari and Junpei were the ones who asked if we could get this high up.

"Yuki, get the team out of here, now!"

"The bag of Traesto Gems was slapped out of my hands!"

I meant that literally.

The foes we were facing, were Magicians, and, you would think that's a good sign, them _not_ being Priestesses, but they were tough as_ hell_. They didn't look tough. Not in the least. I would laugh out loud at their appearances if I had the guts. They had the mask Magicians normally wore, albeit with an aqua tint to it as opposed to a bright blue, and their bodies were literally pink gloves, with white patterns dotted around them.

What they lacked in appearance, though, they made up for with pure skill.

Mitsuru's analysis skills worked perfectly on them, and, according to her, they could fire bolts of electricity, gusts of wind, balls of fire, blocks of ice, and a panic skill called Ten...Tenta-ten...Tentaraf...oh, screw it.

What's worse is, my senpai was right. What was even worse than that was that there were three of them, like those goddamned birds back on the fifth floor.

"Help me! HELP ME!" Yukari yelled, as she dodged multiple bolts of lightning while sweating and shaking like crazy. She'd fall over unconscious, if not for the adrenaline pumping through her right now.

"GAAaaaaaaAAAAHHHHH!" Junpei cried, running away from the massive pillars of wind following him. Panicking like mad and having dropped his Evoker just a few minutes ago, it was safe to say he was out of the game, too.

Most of our attacks did nothing. Every time we'd cut off a finger, it'd grow back, every time we'd try to impale it, we get slapped, and every time we try to use our Personas on it, they'd fire out Tentarawhatever at us to throw us off. If that wouldn't work, they'd use our weaknesses against us, as seen up-close-and-personal by Junpei and Yukari.

I, for some insane reason, was able to resist Tentarawhatchamacallit, so I was safe, but Pyro Jack and Hua Po had to be taken out of the game. Both being fire-based Personas, fighting an enemy who could use ice attacks would be nothing but suicide. I had them retreat within the sea of my soul, deep enough where their weaknesses wouldn't affect me.

"AAAAHHH!"

"GAAHHHH!"

Dammit, how do I save Yukari and Junpei!? At this rate, they'll both be dead!

Their weaknesses, what are they!? Senpai still can't locate them, and I can't waste energy trying to find out. I just have to keep on running. They're firing all they've got at me, fire, ice, wind, electricity, and they're doing it in such a way that I can't find an opening to capitalize on! Crap, this is stupid...

"H-Hermes!" Junpei yelled, still running, firing the Evoker right at his temple.

Hermes didn't come out.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?!" Junpei cried.

"Personas cannot be summoned if their host is in a panicked state, Iori! Keep moving!"

"SHIT-! AAAHHHH!"

I switched between my Personas, hoping for one of them to be able to get us to recover from this-

"Yuki! Their weak spots are their masks! Strike them!"

...

...

...

...**What?**

"ORPHEUS!"

These bastard gloves had their weak spots out in the open the whole damn time. I could've finished them off! We could've finished them off in less than five seconds, but NO! I just_ had_ to be all _calculating_ and _strategic_ and crap...

I was _not_ in the mood for more orders, and I was _not_ in the mood for something like the bird fiasco to happen **ever again**. The gloves, seeing the pure rage prevalent in my grey, formerly lifeless eyes, stopped their onslaughts and stared at me in fear. Or awe.

Time to capitalize.

My white-haired self flew over to the glove on my right, which seemed to be the strongest one, judging from its unusual size, and smashed his lyre down on its mask hard. So hard, I think it cracked.

**_"NYAAAHAHAHAHAHAGGGGHHHHH!"  
_**

I didn't kill it, unfortunately. It did, however, fall flat on the ground unconscious, buying me more time. The second glove curled itself up into a fist and lit itself aflame. I found that simultaneously awesome and ridiculous. What I found unsurprising was that it began to charge straight for me, planning to punch me into mush, while at the same time, burning what's left.

When it was no less than three feet away from me, Orpheus smashed the fist down onto the ground, causing a massive crater on the checkered floor, along with a squeaky whimper escaping the Shadow's poor excuse for a mouth. And then he smashed it down seven more times.

The black on my shirt was so worth the wails of torture that followed.

**_"AAGAGAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_**

As the second glove dissipated in its agonized cries for what I had hoped to be help, it was time for the third glove to meet its fate. It had the good sense to try and run away.

I had the sadistic sense to kill it before it would get the chance to return.

Orpheus flew over and blocked the glove's pathway. Distracted by my Persona, the glove left itself wide open for a massive axe kick of my own right down on its mask.

*SMASH!*

No, not a Social Link. That was the sound of my foot slamming down onto what seemed to be ceramic.

**_"URYAAAHHHHHH!"_**

Lifting my foot off from the mask and jumping backwards, I had Orpheus smash his lyre down onto the Shadow itself. Again, seven more times.

It didn't even wail as it died down. I guess my rage affects my Persona's strength. Huh. Makes sense.

...There's still the case of Yukari and Junpei, who were both now curled up into balls, holed up in two separate corners in tears and sweat.

"Senpai, do you have any clue how to calm them down?" I asked.

"Do you happen to have a Persona with the skill Patra?"

...Wait...

"Angel!"

I am such an idiot.

The Divine Messenger of Light burst forth, and, with a simple wave of her hand, a beautiful emerald light shone forth. My two companions were engulfed in this bright light, and, after about two seconds, it vanished. My friends emerged out of their cowering positions, their eyes having been darkened; Yukari's, from her fringe, Junpei's, from the rim of his cap.

From the way their teeth bared and gritted against each other, though, I could tell they were _pissed_.

**_"MYUUUUUHHHH..."_**

Oh, crap, I forgot about the big one.

Lifting itself up from the cracked, checkered ground, the huge glove I had mashed into unconsciousness earlier snarled ferociously at me, it's mask cracked and spurting out black.

_**"...RRRRRYYYYYAAAAAHAHAHAHHHHHHH-!"**_

**"OH, SHUT UP!"**  
**"OH, SHUT UP!"**

I don't know what's more frightening, seeing either Junpei or Yukari in such a rage, or the fact that they actually managed to synchronize their rage.

**"HERMES!"**  
**"IO, DEAL WITH 'EM!"**

I didn't even have to lift a finger as my two enraged comrades unleashed their fury on the poor little Shadow. I don't think bleach could clean off all the black now staining my formerly white shirt. Or on the floors. And the walls. And ceiling.

At least we won.

* * *

_**WEDNESDAY, THIRD AND FINAL DAY OF GOLDEN WEEK.**_

* * *

No one wanted to go to Tartarus today.

So, I decided to visit the Velvet Room to stock up on more Personas.

One fusion between Pyro Jack and Pixie later...

**_"Hee ho, hello there! You're me, and I'm you! I'm Jack Frost, Spirit of the Snow!"_**

Jack Frost was a portly little Persona. Pure white skin, a small pot belly, a spiked paper collar around his neck with bells draped around the points, a blue horned hat, and elfen shoes.

I then returned Pyro Jack and Pixie out from the Compendium and back into their own seats.

**_"Hiya there, bro!" _**Pyro Jack piped up, floating up from his stool over to his brother.

**_"Pyro! Howya been, hee-ho?" _**Jack Frost kidded.

**_"Oh, not another one__..." _**Orpheus muttered, facepalming.

**_"What's wrong, hee-ho?" _**Pyro Jack questioned, floating over to Orpheus with a deathly glare.

**_"Nothing at all, Pyro-"_**

**_"What, you don't like another Jack to join the club,__ hee-ho?" _**Pyro Jack's voice took on a judgmental tone.**_ "You Anti-Jack, or something?"_****  
**

_**"Of course not, it's just-"  
**_

_**"Just **_**what**_**? Admit it, Orphey, hee-ho!"**_

_**"...'Orphey'...?"**_

_**"You're an Anti-Jack!"**_

_**"I am **_**not**_**!"**_

_**"Yeah, you are, aren'tcha, hee-ho?!" **_Jack Frost joined in on the action.

_**"No, I am not! We are all one and the same! If I were to hate your kind, it'd be-!"**_

_**"Excuse me?! 'Your kind,' hee-ho-?!"**_

_**"Will you please stop saying that?"**_

_**"Saying what?" **_Frost questioned.

_**"That 'hee-ho!' you always use to pepper your sentences with!**__** It annoys me! I get enough of that out of your brother,"** _he said, pointing a metal thumb to Pyro Jack.

_**"Leave my bro outta this, hee-ho!"**_

_**"He started it, you twit! AND STOP SAYING THAT!"**_

_**"**_

...

...I think I've already gotten enough Personas.

* * *

**_THURSDAY, SCHOOL DAY._**

* * *

I decided to attend Student Council today.

"I'd like to hear your opinion on something," Hidetoshi had told me, as I began filing papers in an orderly fashion, "It's nothing serious, but...some students feel the school uniform should be abolished, and they're recruiting supporters..."

"It's a waste of time," I replied.

He grinned, "You're right about that. They think life without rules is freedom. It's ridiculous, plain and simple. Without rules, the whole system would collapse. They're mistaking selfishness for freedom."

"I wouldn't say that," I piped up, earning a confused, yet intrigued stare from my gray-haired senpai.

I continued, "All they want is to express themselves, but what I'm saying is that they're forgetting that a uniform symbolizes conformity, and, in turn, maturity. To want to wear anything else, in a high school, no less, would be a pretty childish thing to do."

"...Heh," Hidetoshi snickered. "I supposed I may have overreacted...it's just...I _hate_ people with no common sense. Sometimes, I can't believe the words that come out of their mouths."

"Understandable, senpai," I replied.

"You, on the other hand..." he trailed off, "you're quite different from the others I've seen pass through these halls."

"How so?"

"Well, all through the school, even in Student Council, there are braggards who speak nothing but nonsense and drivel and lack so much self-control it's a wonder they'd managed to get in this place..."

Well,_ that's_ condescending.

"But you, on the other hand, are more collected than many of the other people I've met or befriended. One day, I'm sure you'd make an excellent spokesman."

"Thanks for that."

**_*SMASH!*  
_**

**_"Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Emperor Arcana..."_**

Ohhh my ears...

* * *

_**FRIDAY, SCHOOL DAY.**_

* * *

"Whoa, Makoto! Ease up on the dummies!" Kazushi urged.

"Can't," I replied, continuing to hack away at my fat wooden foe.

"Damn, my side is killing me..." Kaz moaned.

"Don't overdo it," I advised.

"I...I ain't givin' up yet!" he panted, then continued with a chuckle, "What do ya take me for...?"

He raised his wooden blade and hacked away at his own dummy, trying to be as relentless as me.

"You don't even look tired," he said, surprised at how much energy I had. "Wh-What kinda training you been doing?"

"The usual," I replied, robotically.

"Damn, you...act like...it's...no big deal..." he muttered, with baited breaths, as he plopped himself down onto the floor, sweating like a fat pig. "Makoto...you're crazy."

...

...Dammit, I hate it when people call me that...

"This sucks..." Kazushi sighed, "I knew the Bay Area competition would be tough, but I never expected to go up competing with someone like you..."

'Someone like me?' You're starting to sound like Orpheus.

"...I've made up my mind!" he exclaimed, as he got to his feet, with resolute eyes, pointing at me. "Makoto! One day, I'mma beat you!"

"...Well, good luck with that."

"Hmph!" he snorted, as he quickly nodded.

**_*SMASH!*_**

**_"Thou shalt be blessed when thou chooseth to imbue thyself with the power of the Chariot Arcana..."_**

Heh. This might be fun.

But my head hurts again...

* * *

**_SATURDAY, PROMISED DAY._**

* * *

It was 11:59 PM.

After school had ended, I immediately rushed back to the dorm to build my strength up for whatever ordeal that kid said I'd have to face today. I waited patiently in my room, my saber sheathed and resting on my bed.

I paced around the room, hoping my worries were all for naught. I was stressed, to say the least. I hated being stressed. I hated waiting. And I hated having to stay up till midnight again.

This reminded me of my life back in Osaka. With Uncle.

Ugh.

Wait, can't think about that right now.

The Dark Hour had just struck.

* * *

_**SATURDAY, DARK HOUR.**_

* * *

The skies became green again. The smell of blood started violating my nostrils again, and I had to cover my nose at its horrid scent. The last time the blood ever smelt this bad was...

...The night of the Magician battle.

I looked out the window, and there, I saw a massive full moon hanging in the skies. It was both beautiful and horrid, as it took on a luminous yellow hue as opposed to its usual greyness, and was actually much larger than usual.

Memories of the Magician battle came flooding back to my mind as I shook my head in anxiety. Was I just being paranoid? Was that kid some illusion my obviously fragmented mind had made just to mess with me, or just to help me cope with all this insanity about Shadows and Personas and crap?

_*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!*_

Apparently not. Mitsuru only sounds that alarm when something big's going down.

That kid was right.

I made a mental note to both thank him and beat him down when this is all said and done.

I scrambled out of my room and made it to the command center on the fourth floor. Yukari and Junpei had made it too, Yukari dressed in (rather cute) frilly pink pajamas with (adorable) patches of panda heads stitched on random parts of the outfit. Junpei came in dressed only in a white undershirt, red boxers (with a poorly-stitched up hole on the right buttock), and his usual dark blue baseball cap.

"We're here!" Yukari said, looking pretty tired, but still managing to pull off a determined look.

"Where is it? I'll rip it a new one!" Junpei cackled, cracking his wrists in excitement.

"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus," Mitsuru replied, "We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"So, in other words," Junpei interrupted, "we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!"

"Ugh..." Yukari groaned at the sight of our too-ecstatic-for-his-own-good friend.

"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the chairman," Mitsuru ordered my silver-haired senpai, much to his shock.

"Wh-What?!" he cried, flushed. "Are you kidding?! I'm going!"

"You still need to recover. As you are now, you'll just be a hindrance."

"Tch!" Akihiko grunted.

"They'll fare better than you, in your current state. Have faith in them, Akihiko... They're ready. You'll get your chance. But for now, wait for the Chairman."

"...Dammit," Akihiko whined, crossing his arms.

My capped friend began, "Don't worry 'bout it! I've got it cover-!"

"You're in charge, Makoto," Akihiko interrupted.

"_Him_ again?" Junpei moaned.

"We're counting on you," Mitsuru said, facing me with trusting eyes.

I nodded, "I'll do what I can."

"Heh," Junpei chortled, "Looks like you're stuck playing leader again...sucks to be you!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway, where is this new big Shadow?" I asked.

"At Iwatodai station," Mitsuru replied...

...The monorails?

* * *

_**10 MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR, IWATODAI MONORAIL STATION.**_

* * *

Mitsuru ordered us to get to the station ASAP, promising to meet us up there after finishing whatever preparations she needed to make for the fight ahead.

"Where is she?" Yukari complained, sitting impatiently on the stairs leading to the turnstiles.

"Relax, I'm sure she'll be here soon," Junpei replied, in his usual laid-back tone of voice, leaning on one of the railings.

Yukari sighed, looking up at the emerald sky, and taking notice of the eerie yellow moon. "There's a full moon tonight...but it looks even creepier in the Dark Hour..."

"Whoa, what the-?!" cried a shocked Junpei, at the sound of what seemed to be...a motorcycle revving towards us.

I was right.

In front of us suddenly stood a gleaming white motorcycle which took on an emerald color from the reflection of the green skies onto its glossy shells. Its rider removed her black helmet and revealed herself to be Mitsuru.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, ignoring Junpei's shock and Yukari's frown, facing me with a stern gaze. She continued, "Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"W-wait, isn't that dangerous?" Junpei shakily queried.

"Don't worry. No electronic equipment is active during the Dark Hour, including the monorails," Mitsuru replied.

"B-but your bike..."

"It's special."

Oh, really, now?

"Now," she continued, "if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately."

In one swift motion, Mitsuru planted the Evoker right on her temple, and, pulling the trigger, summoned her Persona, Penthesilea, who was surrounded by a beautiful blue light.

"Now," she said, paying no heed to Junpei and Yukari's shocked faces, "let's get started."

"O-okay," said Yukari.

"L-let's do this!" Junpei grinned, rushing to the tracks.

"Junpei," I called.

"What?" he replied, still running straight ahead.

"You forgot your katana."

"...Oh."

* * *

_**15 MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR, MONORAILS.**_

* * *

"Don't look up!" Yukari ordered, as she climbed the ladder which led to the back end of the monorail.

"I won't!" Junpei replied, "But don't blame me if I happen to catch a glimpse."

He gave me a devilish wink as I rolled my eyes at his blatant stupidity.

"Hey, Makoto," Yukari said, "why don't we just bury Junpei here and leave him behind?"

"Because Mitsuru will kill us."

"...True."

"H-hey!" Junpei cried.

Ignoring his attention-whoring, Yukari and I made our way inside the last car of the monorail, Junpei coming in last. In the car, we spotted a coffin lying on its side, on the hard, gleaming seats.

"This poor stiff must be a passenger," Junpei said, uneased at the sight of the coffin. "He's been transmogged, huh...creepy. So... guys like him don't remember a thing, right? It's probably better that way."

"True," I replied, "but then again, they have no way to defend themselves."

"Wait..." Yukari trailed off. "Why are the doors wide open when we're not at the station?"

Crap, I should've known.

The doors locked immediately after Yukari had made her observation. This was a goddamn trap.

"AAGH!"

Junpei!

"My fingers are all jacked up! Look at 'em!"

Junpei, you scared the crap outta-

"What's wrong?! What happened?!" Mitsuru worriedly asked, over the comm. link.

"We're locked in!" Yukari replied, readying her bow.

"This must be the Shadow's work..."

Now, _why_ would you think _that_, Mitsuru? Aside from all the OBVIOUS IMPLICATIONS THAT-

Okay, what's been wrong with me, lately?! Why am I making all these harshly sarcastic remarks for no reason-?!

"Proceed with extreme caution!" Mitsuru ordered.

Alright, can't think about the unusually cynical thoughts popping in my head right now. Time to get serious.

We treaded cautiously aboard the car, keeping our weapons unsheathed at all times. Yukari and Junpei covered their noses at the smell of the intense viscera, and so did I. But we kept on moving.

We had to. What we were about to face would probably be the most arduous battle we'd ever have.

* * *

Are you kidding me?

_**"NYAHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH..."**_

In front of us was a Tiara. I think. It looked eerily like one. It had the tentacles and the Priestess mask familiar to us. However, it was much larger than a regular Tiara. Its tentacles weren't pink, but golden, with green accents decorated all throughout it. Lastly, what was perched atop its head was not a tiara, but a crown. A golden crown, with a massive, light brown book floating from within.

It sounded like it was taunting us.

It then suddenly turned away from us, heading into the other car.

"After it!" Junpei urged.

"No, wait, Iori! Something isn't right...the enemy is acting rather strangely," Mitsuru ordered.

She's right. Normally, Shadows would go after any form of prey they'd find. To see one of them taunt us and then suddenly leave could only mean one thing: it's trying to lure us.

"Yuki, you're in charge over there. What do you suggest should be our next course of action?" Mitsuru asked.

"I think we should take this situation carefully-"

"WHAT?!" Junpei cried. "Are you mental? We can take that thing, no problem! Hell, I'll do it myself!"

"Junpei!" Yukari yelled, in vain, as our capped friend pushed me aside, katana raised, to face that...not-Tiara. I'll call it a Crown.

"Watch out! Behind you!" Mitsuru said.

This is not going to end well, is it?

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES._**

* * *

Racist Orpheus is racist.

Anyway, the Priestess battle FINALLY happens! I realized that there was one full week before the actual battle, so, I decided to incorporate that into the events taking place in this chapter.

Tune in next time for the climax of the battle, where a very familiar face (or, rather, mask) appears to aid (or pretty much screw over) the party!

* * *

**_MAKOTO YUKI'S SOCIAL LINKS._**

* * *

Magus  
RANK: 2

Magician  
RANK: 2

Emperor  
RANK: 3

High Priest  
RANK: 1

Hierophant  
RANK: 2

Chariot  
RANK: 2

Justice  
RANK: 1

Strength  
RANK: 1

Tower  
RANK: 2

Star  
RANK: 1

World  
RANK: 2


	25. Priestess's Lures, Death's Edge

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: PRIESTESS'S LURES, DEATH'S EDGE**

* * *

_**TWENTY MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR, MONORAILS.**_

* * *

"Senpai!" I yelled, slashing down a massive Crown right in front of me. We've been facing a lot of these things here. "How far ahead is Junpei?!"

"He can't be far!" she replied, "He's too far for me to communicate to him! You've got to hurry!"

Goddammit, Junpei.

"How stupid can that idiot be?!" Yukari yelled, using a wind attack on another Crown, repelling it back into the darkness spreading out from behind us. "What does he think he's doing?!"

"C'mon. We gotta go after him," I said, agitation prevalent in every word.

Slashing my sword mid-air to rid it of the black residues of the multiple Shadows Yukari and I'd just slain, we ran farther ahead into the monorail, to find our idiot friend before he ends up killing himself, us, and the coffins.

This was the bloodiest battle Yukari and I had ever had to take part in. The strangest part of it all was that the Crowns weren't even that hard to fight. It took all of two hits to finish them off. And the ways they came at us...they seem...calculated. It's like they had to time their ambushes. What's even more unsettling is how that single Crown, the one that got Junpei to bail out on us, didn't attack us at all, instead opting to head off into the other car.

Normally, Shadows would lunge at enemies without a second thought. All our nights in Tartarus proved it to be fact. So, how come these Shadows are acting so strategically?

...

...What if-?

"Junpei!" cried Yukari.

Wha-oh my...

Junpei was facing off against four Shadows, fending off their attacks with the Bastard Sword.

"I-I got this under control!" he yelled, slashing away at his foes, "Take this, you freak o' nature!"

The Shadows which had Junpei surrounded were not Crowns. Not at all. Two of them were shaped like measuring scales, one half of their bodies colored red, the other half colored blue, the scales themselves colored gold. The other two, quite literally, looked like tables.

I am _not_ kidding here.

They moved using their weirdly floppy wooden legs, had Magician masks on, and appeared to be using cleavers, knives, and forks for weapons, having the tools float above its body, air-jabbing them in Junpei's general direction, nearly managing to stab him quite a few times.

Time to take action. "Yukari, deal with anything coming from behind!" I ordered, rushing into battle.

She nodded, "Be careful!"

I pushed Junpei out of the way, earning a "H-HEY!" as a response. No time to heed his whining. Summoning Pyro Jack, I doused the Tables with Sukunda. Slowing them down will give us more of an advantage, and I am _not_ getting stabbed by a freaking kitchen knife.

"Senpai, weaknesses!" I yelled, dodging a blast of lightning sent forth by one of the Scales. Crap, should've downed that one first.

"The Scales are weak against electricity, and the Tables are weak against fire!"

As Mitsuru had said this, the Shadows lurched closer to us, growling unsettlingly to throw us off.

Pointing my finger at the damned things, I yelled to Pyro Jack, "Maragi!"

The fire spell Maragi had generated a massive wall of flame to shield us from the oncoming horde. The Tables were taken aback from the scalding heat, retreating into the cars ahead, managing to squeeze themselves through the doors. Good for them.

The Scales, however, dove straight at me, through the flames. I could tell, though, that they were damaged by the heat, seeing the black dripping down from the crevices in their bodies.

"Check this out!"

With a bang, Hermes burst straight out of Junpei's skull in a bright blue light, beating its golden wings in all its birdy glory. Charging straight through to the Scales, the sharpness and strength of his wings had managed to clear out the wall of flame in a massive gust of wind, simultaneously cutting the monsters into pieces.

They didn't even wail in their pain as the severed parts of their bodies fell unceremoniously onto the cold metal floor of the car, melting into black spludges as the smell of methane permeated through the air, forcing me to take notice of the now-charred monorail, blackened by that wall of fire I'd created earlier.

Doesn't matter.

"Damn, that...was actually kinda scary..." Junpei moaned, as he knelt down on trembling knees, using his katana as support.

At least he's alive. Well, until Yukari deals with him, anyway.

"See, that's what happens when you don't listen!" she exclaimed, jolting him from his exhaustion and setting him back up on his feet. Her sharp frown then shifted from its deadly stare into a concerned look, as she then asked, almost reluctantly, "...So, are you alright?"

However, much to the surprise of both Yukari and I, Junpei spat back, "O-of course I am!" with a smug frown. "I was doin' just fine!" he continued, waving his fist in the air and digging the blade of his katana into the metal of the car floor.

"Excuse me?!" my cardigan-wearing companion yelled back at our capped friend.

From the sudden rage in Yukari's eyes to Junpei's laugh-inducing flinch, I doubt my capped friend would survive tonight, with or without the Shadows messing around the monorail.

"Careful, you three!" Mitsuru cautioned, "I don't detect any movement, but stay alert!"

"Senpai's right," I said. "Junpei, we'll talk about this later," that got me a glare, but, moving on, "Right now, let's focus on trying to stop whatever's going on, or at least stay alive till the very end of this..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Junpei jabbed. "What's with you, being all dramatic and shit? They're just Shadows! I mean, sure, I guess I was having a pretty rough time..." You _guess_? "B-but we beat 'em all easily, anyway! 'Sides, you and Yuka-tan made it this far! What could possibly-?"

"Don't say that," I interrupted. "I think the Shadows we're facing are special. Different. Usually, they'd be mindless predators, always going on the offense, never strategizing for anything, only seeking to munch on whatever they can get their grubbly little claws on it. Most of the Shadows in the monorail Yukari and I'd faced so far didn't attack us at all. They acted like...roadblocks. Things to slow us down. They were weak drones. The things that you fought were unusually strong, compared to what Yukari and I'd fought."

"...What're you getting at?" Junpei questioned.

"What I'm getting at is that they're actually _thinking_. They tried to separate you from us, to take you, the heaviest hitter, out first, then, next would probably be me, then Yukari. They were _planning ahead_."

A sweat drop ran down Junpei's face as Yukari rubbed her arm in unease.

"Either these things are plotting something big...or something's controlling them. Something huge."

A gulp, now. From Yukari, a quivering of the lips. I could tell they were kind of unsettled at how stoic I looked at the whole situation, considering the rather terrifying tones of the whole affair.

It didn't make it any better that the train started _moving_.

...Wait, what?

"Whoa!" Junpei cried, "Why're we moving!?"

Mitsuru worriedly replied, "It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control..."

Wait, **what**?

"What do you mean, 'it seems!?'" Yukari angrily yelled back.

Aaand the monorail sped up. Because why the hell not.

"This doesn't look too good..." Junpei said, his voice trembling.

"...If we can't stop them," Mitsuru continued, "we'll crash into another train!"

**Wait, what?  
**

"Wh-what are we going to do!?" Yukari cried, shifting her head left to right in fear.

"Calm down and listen," Mitsuru ordered with a firm voice, "I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the one we're after. You'll have to defeat it to stop the train!"

And, of course, immediately after she had said those words, more Shadows dropped down on us. Tables, no less.

"What kind of messed-up ride is this?!" Junpei cried, exasperatedly, reaching out for his Evoker.

I ordered, unsheathing my own Evoker, "Get them. Leave none alive."

* * *

_**THIRTY MINUTES INTO THE DARK HOUR.**_

* * *

"The enemy is behind this door," Mitsuru warned. "Are you ready?"

I stared at my two comrades to get a response. All they did was lift their weapons and grit their teeth. And wipe the black gunk off their clothes. We killed a _lot_ of Shadows along the way. I can't believe how much black we had spilt all around the cars. I wonder how the news is going to explain all of this...

But, anyway, "We're ready," I replied.

"Good luck."

Opening the door, what we had found to be the mastermind of this entire fiasco was something I wished I could unsee.

The Shadow took on the form of a, well-endowed naked woman whose lower region was completely covered by what seemed to be a white blanket. One half of her body was colored white, the other black. On her breasts were the letters B and J, on her right and left, respectively. What sprouted out from the top of her head resembled wires more so than it did actual hair, and, to top it all off, she had a seductive smile plastered on her face, with a Priestess mask-

...This thing was a Priestess.

Another one.

_Another one_.

I'm so sick of seeing that damned mask so many times, I already want to kill this thing no matter the cost.

Oh, and did I mention she was bigger than the monorail car we were in? To fit in the car, she was sitting all the while, with her legs spread wide open. Thankfully, it was covered by that white blanket I had mentioned earlier. I _do not_ need to see Shadow va-

"What the hell?!" Junpei cried, dumbstruck at the sight of this baffling foe. "Is this the freaking' boss!?"

"We're in the front car!" Yukari replied, "It's gotta be!"

"Hurry!" Mitsuru yelled. "You don't have much time! By my calculations, if you don't defeat the Shadow in five minutes, you'll crash into the other train!"

"Senpai, scan for its strengths, weaknesses, and skills," I ordered. "Junpei, you and I take the front lines. Yukari, heal us when needed, and when not, pelt it with wind attacks or arrows."

"Roger!"  
"Got it!"  
"Let's get it on!"

_**"Unnnnh..."** _the Shadow moaned, as if orgasming, as she waved her hand alluringly.

"I'm sick o' this bullshit!" Junpei yelled, drawing his sword up, and yelling "_HRRAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!_" as he ran over to the Shadow chivalrously, or at least, in an honest attempt at chivalriness.

However, the Shadow, _not_ looking forward to being chopped to pieces by an aspiring baseball player, created a massive wall made of ice to separate the three of us from her.

This had lightened the mood somewhat as Yukari and I bore witness to Junpei hilariously running shoulder-first into a block of ice.

"OOF-!" he wheezed, as he fell to the floor.

Okay, I admit, I am a bit of a sadist, but haven't you ever laughed at your friends unintentionally slamming themselves into walls?

Yukari ran over to him and knelt down to his level, asking, "You okay?" as I made my way over to the wall of ice. It was, of course, cold to the touch, but it was firm, too. I doubt any conventional weapons would be able to cut through it.

"Ugh...damn Shadow..." he cursed, as he clutched his right shoulder in pain. "How do we stop this thing now!?"

Immediately after Junpei had uttered those words, I began to feel cold. Colder than I had ever felt before. No, scratch that. The only time I had ever felt this cold was the first time I'd ever been summoned to the Velvet Room. But still, the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.

"What the hell is it doing?!" Junpei exasperatedly cried.

"Hurry! Iori, Yuki! Use a fire spell!" Mitsuru yelled.

"I c-can't," I replied, my teeth chattering in the cold. "P-Pyro Jack and Hua Po are w-weak against ice...I d-doubt they could w-withstand th-this..." I got down to my knees and embraced myself for warmth.

From the looks of things, Yukari was freezing, too, letting out a "Brrr..." as she, too, began to embrace herself for once.

However, Junpei was surprisingly acting smart, for a change.

"Hermes!" he yelled, as he got to his feet, summoning our favorite metal-winged messenger of the gods, "L-Light this place up!"

And, so, the Persona hurled a magnificent fireball at the wall of ice, it's heat so incredibly warming that I think it actually managed to rescue the three of us from our freezing states. However, the wall of ice, instead of melting spectacularly, bore mere drippings of water, all of which fell to the floor anti-climactically.

Aaand it just got _colder_, the car starting to whiten in the frost.

"Oh, c-come on!" Junpei yelled in agitation, "How the hell can we beat this damn thing-? WHOA!"

Leaping backwards, onto a seat behind him, Junpei had narrowly managed to escape being pierced through the head by a massive stalactite which moved too fast for any of us to see. It had managed to pierce deep into the wall of ice, though. At least now, it was damag-

"Wh-what is _that_?!" Yukari cried, stuttering from either the freezing temperature or whatever she was referring to. I hope it was the former.

Something hideous was lurking out from the car behind us, and began pawing its way closer to us. A four-legged monstrosity, it had the body of a mountain lion, but its skin, instead of being covered in fur of any sort, was hairless, pale, and veined. For its head, it had no ears, or nose. All I could see on it was a _damn Priestess mask_...

Ugh. Covering its body were jagged pieces of ice, prominent on its shoulders, hind legs, back, and massive, reptilian tail. In fact, there was so much ice enveloping its body that I could barely see any of its flesh (or, whatever you call that substance Shadows have for skin). Its sharp claws had a blue tint to them, resembling the blue tint of the ice around its body.

_**"HRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH..."** _it growled. **_"HHHRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! "_**

Its roar, while loud, was guttural, and sounded somewhat foamy. It lifted its tail such that its end faced us, and, out from the end of its tail, another stalactite formed, much more jagged than the previous one, and much larger as well.

"It's weakness is fire!" Mitsuru cried, "Iori!"

"J-Junpei!" I yelled.

"HERMES!"

Hermes was let out with another _bang_, and unleashed another massive fireball, hurling it, this time, towards the behemoth staring us down. The beast, however, managed to dodge it, leaping onto the seats to our left as the flaming ball was sent off into the other car, descending into the darkness.

"Crap..." Junpei muttered, his eyes widening in fear.

The behemoth then leapt out at Junpei, who, with a "GAaaHAAH!" shielded himself from the beast's claws using his katana.

"Garu!" Yukari yelled, while summoning Io.

A massive gust of wind had sent the behemoth careening into the windows to our left, creating a massive crack, but, strangely, not breaking it. Junpei was miraculously unharmed by the wind.

The creature fell onto the seats, and then plopped down unceremoniously to the floor, shards of ice cracking and falling down from its shoulders and back. The monster, growling, struggling to get to its feet, its mask dripping black from the eyeholes.

**_"HRAAAUAUGGGHAHAHHAHHH!"_**it roared, jolting the three of us.

"Junpei," I began, as the Shadow continued its attempts to get to its feet, "keep it at bay!"

"What!?"

"I'll try to bash our way through the wall," I said, "while you and Yukari take care of that thing."

"Wh-Wha-!" he cried, lifting his sword with beads of sweat dripping down from his forehead.

"SHUT UP AND FIGHT BACK!" I yelled. "Orpheus!"

My musical, mechanical companion burst forth from my skull and started smashing down on the wall of frozen water, landing blow after blow to it with his huge, white lyre. Each time he brought his weapon down onto the wall, he'd damage it. However, each time he'd so much as cause a crack in it, the wall would, like it was nothing, heal itself, as if mocking our attempts.

"You have four minutes before you crash into the other train!" Mitsuru yelled, "HURRY!"

The beast then leapt at Junpei with bared claws once again. I would have used Orpheus to smash it into oblivion, but...

*CHUNK!*

_**"HRAAOH!"**_

...Yukari's a pretty good shot already.

The beast was sent to the floor again, the arrow piercing deep into its mask, spurting out black relentlessly.

"Get away from him!" she yelled, shooting more arrows through and into the behemoth's icy body.

*CHUNK!*  
*CHUNK!*  
*CHUNK!*

**_"RAAGH!" _**it roared, as black began spurting out from its arrow wounds, repeatedly-

Wait, where do you find arrows strong enough to pierce through solid blocks of ice, anyway?

"Hermes!" Junpei yelled, summoning his Persona with an Evoker in one hand and clutching his sword in the other. "Burn it!"

This time, the fireball hit it.

_**"HRRAAGGGGHHHHHAHHAHAHAAAWAAOAOAOOOAOAOAOAHHH!"** _it wailed in its pain, as fire mercilessly spread through every inch of its body, drips of black and melted ice dripping down onto the floor in unison.

But it wasn't done yet. Covered in flames, dying an agonizing, painful death, it still stood defiantly against us, its mask now pouring black. I could see fragments of it fall to the floor. The sight was quite horrifying.

"Oh, come on! How the hell do we kill these things?!"

Dammit, he's right! We have less than four minutes before everything goes to hell! We have two Priestesses looking to kill us, and anyone else on the train, the car is now so cold that the freaking _metal's_ getting frostbite, and I don't know what to do! What do we do?! WHAT DO I DO-?!

...Wait...

...I...I have an idea.

It's a crazy idea, bordering on brazenly stupid, but it's all I have. It might damage me, mentally. Probably, physically, as well. But I gotta do it. I gotta take this chance.

I hope this doesn't hurt.

"Pyro Jack! Jack Frost!"

The Jack brothers burst out of my head in unison as soon as I had pulled the trigger.

And, you know what? It didn't hurt. Too much, anyway. As soon as a trickle of blood flowed down from my right nostril, I knew that I shouldn't ever do something this rash ever again.

At least, not in any normal circumstances.

"What the hell?!" Junpei cried.

"T-two Personas?!" Yukari muttered, shocked at the sight.

Mitsuru then said, "Tres bien! Yuki!"

"On it. Pyro Jack, AGI!"

Another blast of fire was sent. And another. And another.

_**"ERRYYAAAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHH!"**_ the Shadow wailed, in its horrendous pain, as more thunderous flames came at it and pelted it unmercilessly. Pyro Jack was kept safe. Jack Frost shielded him from the lack of heat by absorbing the painfully low temperature in the car.

...Dammit, hindsight. I should've used him earlier.

**_"URRYAAAHHHH...!"_**

At least I got the thing to melt.

"Hermes!"

I turned to see Junpei using Hermes in another attempt to burn a hole through the ice. "Makoto!" he called, "What the hell are you waiting for! Burn this damn wall with me so we can end this!"

I grinned, "Alright. Pyro Jack!"

The two of us burned down the wall of ice as Yukari looked on, in awe and anticipation. It took some time, but we had finally managed to melt the wall of ice into nothing but mere puddles of water.

Hermes and the Jack Brothers faded away, and the three of us made our way through the melted wall to face the Priestess behind this whole mess.

Only for me to be met by a giant block of ice to the face.

*SMASH!*

...Which _hurt_.

"GAH-!"

A _lot_.

"Makoto!" Yukari cried, rushing over to me, as my broken nose started spewing red from both nostrils relentlessly.

_**"NYAHAHAHAHAHAH!"**_ the Priestess cackled in joy over this humiliating turn of events.

"Takeba," Mitsuru began, "defend Yuki! Iori-"

"On it!" he yelled, charging at the huge Priestess with drawn sword, crying out, "RAAAGHHHH!"

"Junpei! Wait-!" Yukari cried.

"EAT THIS!" he yelled, plunging the Bastard Sword deep within the Priestess' stomach, spilling black all over his shirt.

_**"HRAAGGHHH!"** _the Shadow cried, in pain at the sword plunged deep within her abdomen.

At least he didn't plunge it in her-

"HAHA!" Junpei boasted, triumphantly, interrupting my thoughts. "Take that, ya ugly bit-AAGH!"

Oh, crap.

The Priestess grabbed Junpei, wrapping her massive hand around his body like a child would with their favorite toy. However, she began to squeeze.

"What the hell-AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! DAMMIT! S-Someone, help-AAAGGGGHHHH!" he cried, as his bones began to _crunch_ under the pressure.

Crap, I gotta do something before-

*CHUNK!*

**"GRRYYAAHHHHHH!"**the Shadow cried, dropping Junpei as the butt of an arrow was seen protruding from the nose bridge of the Priestess's mask.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Yukari, you are just amazing at being a Deus Ex Machina, aren't you?

Junpei curled himself up into a ball, clutching his ribs and abdomen in pain, moaning all the while. "Ughn..." Yukari, being the healer and all, ran over to him to take care of his injuries.

Time for me to step in.

Getting to my feet and putting the Evoker to my head, I prepared myself to summon Orpheus for another bout with this damned bit-

***CRACK***

Ow.

***CRACKCRACKCRACK***

Ow, ow, ow, OW...

***CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK***

OW, OW, OW, OW, OW-_WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?_

**_"SUMMON ME!"_**

_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?_

**_"UNLEASH ME UPON THINE ENEMIES! I ORDER THEE!"_**

_GODDAMMIT, NO-!_

GAH! G-get out of my head!

I-I...what the hell was that...?

"Makoto, what's wrong?!" Yukari asked, upon seeing me clutching my head in pain.

"Crap, Makoto!" Junpei coughed, still holding on to his ribs. "What the hell did you do to him?!" he yelled, facing the Priestess.

"Yuki, what's going on?!" Mitsuru called out.

_**"YOU WISH TO SAVE THESE MISCREANTS, DO YOU NOT!? NOW, SUMMON ME!"**_

GAAH!

...What are you...?

**_"DO IT NOW, MORTAL! CALL MY NAME!"_**

"...Tha..."

_**"COWARD! SAY IT, AND I SHALL GO FORTH! SAY IT NOW!"**_

Suddenly, I felt energy flow through my brain. It felt...disgusting. Horrendous. Horrifying. It felt nothing like how I would normally feel when summoning a Persona. This actually felt...deathly. But, you know what it also felt?

Powerful.

"THANATOS!"

The God of Death was unleashed from my skull, roaring and rejoicing at his arrival back into the world of the living. A roar so massive in its volume that all the windows of the monorail shattered at the sound of it.

Junpei and Yukari curled themselves up while covering their ears, protecting them from the shards of glass and the extremely loud, eardrum-shattering outcry.

The Priestess actually looked terrified at the sight of him.

Almost immediately after his emergence, Thanatos flew over to the Priestess and drove his blade deep within her chest, causing black to spill out all over the car, onto the seats, the floor, the ceiling, and my friends.

**_"HRRRRAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"_**the Shadow cried, in pain.

"Oh, my..." was all that came out of Junpei's mouth as Thanatos continued his onslaught. Yukari looked immensely horrified. Probably because she'd seen Thanatos before, under nearly the exact same circumstances.

Grabbing the Priestess by the hair with his left hand, Thanatos slammed his right fist into her face, cracking her mask.

With her head sent flying backwards, still attached to the neck, my Persona grabbed his blade, which was still plunged within her chest, by the hilt, and forcibly removed it by slashing it off to the right, causing her right breast and arm to fall off in a mass of black blood.

_**"URRYAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

This would be horrifying to an actual person, even more so than it already is to a Shadow.

He then continued cutting and cutting and hacking and slashing away, reducing the Priestess to nothing but mere chunks of black meat, mush, and froth. Tearing her wire-hair off, he then proceeded to crush her head with his gloved hands, causing it to pour out more black onto the floor and preventing the beast's cries from being heard anymore.

After which, he grabbed both of her legs by the ankles, and, with a simple pull, _ripped them off_.

Do I need to elaborate further?

After this carnage was over, he loomed over the mangled mess that was the Priestess with conviction prevalent in his form and black staining his blade, breathing heavily and frighteningly, his breaths sounding like his lungs were made of steel.

The Priestess, however, was barely alive.

Stretching her crushed, but unsevered left hand out to Thanatos, she...caressed his helmet, almost lovingly.

...I don't know what to say about that. What I do know what to say, however, is that Thanatos dealt with that swiftly.

With a wave of his sword, a black mist appeared over the Priestess' mangled body. Out of that mist, a dark purple ring emerged, encircling the body.

After a spectacular black light shone forth from the ring, the Priestess disintegrated, and with her, all the black that her corpse had spilt onto the train. Even the black from the bodies of her minions dissipated into the air, conveniently removing all traces of the Shadows. My friends' eyes widened more and more in both fear and awe.

...And, with that, Thanatos turned to me.

He then marched over, blade clutched firmly in his blackened hand, and growled at me with utter contempt and disgust, all the while staring me down like a predator to his prey.

The strangest part? He did nothing. Nothing at all. He didn't even lift his sword at me.

It's like he wanted to kill me. To destroy me with all his might. But at the same time...he realizes he can't. No, more like, he won't.

"...What are you?" I uttered, in a voice no louder than a whisper.

_**"..."**_

Nothing. Nothing at all.

"Look," I began, facing him directly, "I don't know what you are, exactly, or why you're trapped inside of me. I think...you even want out."

A guttural growl was what I got as a response.

I continued with, "But you're bound by something, aren't you? You're kept to me through something...something you want to break, but, for some reason, can't. Or, even...won't?"

An even louder growl, this time.

"Now, I'll deal with you some other time. When all of this is said and done. But, right now, me and my friends need to stop this damned train from crashing into another, and I'd prefer it if you'd let us be. For now."

_**"..."**_

He then faded away, returning to the sea of my soul.

And I collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

* * *

SORRY FOR THE DELAY I WAS BURNED OUT AND I HAD QUIZZES TO DEAL WITH PLS 4GIVE MEEEEEEEE

Anyway, introducing a new Shadow! The Ice Behemoth, a Priestess Shadow which absorbs ice, but is terribly weak against fire. You'll be seeing more creations of mine throughout the story, as I have now gotten sick of having to describe in-game Shadows. I'm restricted to what I've been given. Don't worry, you'll still see in-game Shadows, but I'll throw in my own creations just to mix it up.

Also, Thanatos makes another appearance! YAY!

And I was kind of rushing, sorry, I know.

Oh, and just a little question I have: if all sources of liquid turn to blood during the Dark Hour, how come ice, which is just frozen water, doesn't turn into frozen blood?

* * *

**MAKOTO YUKI'S PERSONAS:**

* * *

**Orpheus  
ARCANA: Fool**  
**SKILLS: Bash**

**Hua Po  
ARCANA: Magus**  
**SKILLS: Maragi, Agi**

**Pyro Jack  
ARCANA: Magus**  
**SKILLS: Agi, Sukunda**

**Jack Frost  
ARCANA: Magician**  
**SKILLS: Bufu, Absorb Ice, Power Strike**

**Apsaras  
ARCANA: Priestess**  
**SKILLS: Bufu, Mabufu, Posumundi**

**Pixie  
ARCANA: Lovers**  
**SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru**

**Angel  
ARCANA: Justice**  
**SKILLS: Hama, Patra, Sukukaja**

**Thanatos** (AW HELL YES)  
**ARCANA: Death**  
**SKILLS: Mudoon, Mamudoon, Tempest Slash, Megido**  
(He's OP because he's DEATH ITSELF. And he sucked in-game, so I decided to make him a badass here. Don't tell me you never wanted an OP Thanatos killing Shadows for you.)

* * *

**MAKOTO YUKI'S SOCIAL LINKS:**

* * *

**Fool  
RANK: 2  
**

**Magus**  
**RANK: 2  
**

**Magician**  
**RANK: 2**

**Emperor**  
**RANK: 3**

**High Priest**  
**RANK: 1**

**Hierophant**  
**RANK: 2**

**Chariot**  
**RANK: 2**

**Justice**  
**RANK: 1**

**Strength**  
**RANK: 1**

**Tower**  
**RANK: 2**

**Star**  
**RANK: 1**

**World**  
**RANK: 2**


	26. A Child's Dead Eyes

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: A CHILD'S DEAD EYES  
**

I heard a giggle come from behind me.

Opening my eyes in shock, I found myself stuck in that cold room I was in just prior to entering the Velvet Room for the first time. I sat myself up and scanned my surroundings.

Nothing was there.

And, just as I began to get up to my own two feet, an enormous and eerily cold gust of wind had sent me tumbling back down to the floor, landing back first onto cold, unforgiving marble.

"OW!" I exclaimed, clutching the back of my head after it had met the hard marble. "Dammit…"

And then another giggle was heard.

Gasping, I got to my feet yet again. "Who's there?" I cautiously demanded. "Tell me!"

"You still don't know?"

I turned to see the last person I ever thought I would see in my head.

"Hamuko…?" I muttered.

There she was. A petit young girl, she wore a yellow, frilly dress that most girls her age would wear, with orange patches of flowers stitched all over it. Her hair was the same auburn color I'd remembered it to be, ponytailed along with those familiar silver barrettes which had formed the Roman numeral XXII.

I'd always take notice of that. It would often amuse me whenever I'd think about how she'd specifically style her barrettes in such a manner.

Needless to say, I was shocked. I knew I was in some kind of illusionary world created in the recesses of my psyche, but this…this felt real. I felt I could actually reach out and grab Hamuko. She looked alive, healthy. Certainly more so than she did _that night_.

"What…what are you…?" I breathed out.

"I'm helping you, Makoto," she replied, a big smile stretching across her face.

"Helping me…?" I asked, with uneasiness ever present in my voice.

"Yup," she said in response, paying no heed to my obvious shock towards the situation.

"What are you talking about-?"

"I think you need to wake up, now, big bro," she interrupted. "Your friends are waiting for you."

"Hamuko, I-" I paused, widening my eyes in shock.

Behind Hamuko was the kid in prison garb."Hello, there. I told you I'd see you again, after you'd overcome this ordeal," he said, smiling cheerfully and creepily at me. "Oh, wait...but you haven't overcome the ordeal yet...not fully."

"Not yet...?" I muttered, fearing what else I'd have to do. And then I and Junpei were still stuck on the monorail. The monorail threatening to crash itself into another one on the same track. Crap, this is bad. "How do I get back to them?" I demanded, now fearing for my friends' safety.

"Just go through that door," Hamuko replied, pointing to somewhere behind me.

...Door?

I turned to find myself facing a red door amidst all the darkness, one that resembled the Velvet Room to a massive degree, excluding the fact that it was...well, red.

"Just go through the door, and you'll return to your friends," the kid told me, placing his hand right on Hamuko's shoulder. I was slightly irked at the fact that this kid was getting slightly personal with my...quite frankly, _dead_ sister, but I pressed on. I had other matters to attend to.

"Thanks," I said, uneasily, as I turned to face the door.

And something hit me.

"Wait..." I began, turning again, to face the kid and Hamuko. "Did you summon Thanatos?"

I can't believe I didn't put two and two together earlier. The kid looks like a ghost, one that somehow managed to maintain a corporeal form. Hamuko's dead. And Thanatos is the God of Death.

Something is definitely up with the three of them. Especially since they didn't respond to my question, instead opting to look away at me with somber eyes.

"What are you?" I asked, raising my voice a bit higher to get across that I'm done thanking them, and would now like to get some questions answered. "What are either of you?"

"What are you talking about?" the kid asked, shifting his head to look at me, as the...thing that resembled Hamuko suddenly frowned at my comment, also now looking at me.

"I've had so many nightmares that I can tell the difference between what's a dream and what's not," I retorted. "You two are no dream, but you certainly aren't real. So, what are you, huh? Are you Personas? Something Igor sent to guide me on my 'journey?'"

"...You mean Philemon's servant?" the kid asked-

Wait, "Who the hell is Philemon?"

"Oh, that's of no matter," the kid continued. "Anyway, shouldn't you be-?"

"Don't try to change the subject," I interrupted sternly. "Answer me, now...what are you?"

I know I shouldn't be too harsh on them, considering the fact that they're, well, kids, but I'm sick of having so many unanswered questions. I'd at least like to know just who or what the hell I'm conversing with.

Hamuko maintained her frown when she asked, "...Do you really want to know?"

"Yes," I said, unhesitatingly.

"Alright then," the kid said, as...

...As his eyeballs fell to the ground.

As did Hamuko's.

The two then clasped their hands, as a black light had them both engulfed. In this black light, their skin had begun to melt off, reduced to a flesh-colored mass of what looked like putty. Melting down to their feet, all that had remained of my sister and that kid were two skeletons, their clothes somehow managing to cling snugly to their bones.

And their bones weren't pure white. If anything, they took on a saturated yellow color, further accentuated by the cracks seen on them.

What horrified me even more was that their bony hands had somehow melded together. And, soon, so did their arms. In fact, their entire skeletal frames had somehow managed to meld into each other, causing horrific cracking and crunching sounds as the united bones had somehow created a massive, bone-white being with an immensely lean frame and legs with no feet. It's huge white arms had massive hands to match, contrasting with its unusually small chest and abdomen. It's back was somewhat arched, and it's face was featureless.

The melted flesh had then wrapped itself around the being, its flesh-colored visage turning dark blue and black. Out from the being's back came several coffins, all connected to a massive chain which had its ends draped onto the being's shoulders. The blue and the black turned skintight, molding itself in accordance to the beast's frame. It had then transformed into what appeared to be clothes, a cloak resembling a massive, dark blue peacoat clothing the torso...

...Wait...

...A massive peacoat?

Oh, no.

The black and blue fleshy bits had formed white gloves and boots for the hands and legs as my fears had come alive.

A skull-like helmet formed out of the head and gleamed in the absolute darkness of this entire location. Unsheathing its sword, it had presented itself to me as my eyes widened and sweat spread from every inch of my body.

**_"I AM DEATH."_**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

* * *

Time for some nightmare fuel!

(And short chapter is short, sorree)

* * *

**MAKOTO YUKI'S PERSONAS:**

* * *

**Orpheus  
ARCANA: Fool**  
**SKILLS: Bash**

**Hua Po  
ARCANA: Magus**  
**SKILLS: Maragi, Agi**

**Pyro Jack  
ARCANA: Magus**  
**SKILLS: Agi, Sukunda**

**Jack Frost  
ARCANA: Magician**  
**SKILLS: Bufu, Absorb Ice, Power Strike**

**Apsaras  
ARCANA: Priestess**  
**SKILLS: Bufu, Mabufu, Posumundi**

**Pixie  
ARCANA: Lovers**  
**SKILLS: Dia, Garu, Magaru**

**Angel  
ARCANA: Justice**  
**SKILLS: Hama, Patra, Sukukaja**

**Thanatos**  
**ARCANA: Death**  
**SKILLS: Mudoon, Mamudoon, Tempest Slash, Megido**

* * *

**MAKOTO YUKI'S SOCIAL LINKS:**

* * *

**Fool  
RANK: 3  
**

**Magus**  
**RANK: 2  
**

**Magician**  
**RANK: 2**

**Emperor**  
**RANK: 3**

**High Priest**  
**RANK: 1**

**Hierophant**  
**RANK: 2**

**Chariot**  
**RANK: 2**

**Justice**  
**RANK: 1**

**Strength**  
**RANK: 1**

**Tower**  
**RANK: 2**

**Star**  
**RANK: 1**

**World**  
**RANK: 2**


End file.
